Adaptation
by 6thfloormadness
Summary: Shard swap. Hard to lose a fight if you can adapt to whatever they throw at you.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**  
As a kid I wanted to grow up to be Alexandria. If young me had found out I was going to get powers in highschool she would have been ecstatic. It sucked that I had gotten my powers on one of the worst days of my life but I could have dealt with that if my powers weren't so pathetic.

At first I hadn't even realized I had gotten powers. Wasn't like they had helped me get out of the locker. It was only when I was laying in a hospital bed afterwards and the nurse had commented that it was odd that I wasn't dehydrated or injured that I thought something might be off. I specifically remembered cutting my hand on a protruding nail in the locker and yet there wasn't a scratch on me. I felt fine.

I had been let out of the hospital the next morning, perfectly healthy. Dad hovered over me the entire day. I could understand why he was doing it but that didn't mean it wasn't annoying. Testing to see if I had a healing power while Dad was home was just no. With my luck he would have walked in on me while I was cutting myself with a knife and he'd assume I was committing suicide after the traumatic experience of being stuck in that locker for hours.

So I had waited till he had gone to work the next day to experiment. I had determined that I could heal from knife wounds in a few seconds, it was kinda cool to watch actually. I was also a bit stronger than I used to be, I could lift up a corner of the couch and hold it until I got bored. I couldn't fly, though my scrapes knees healed quite nicely from the fall out of the tree. So not only did I have a really weak Alexandria package (as PHO had nicknamed it) but I didn't even have the complete package.

I had actually spent the last several months debating with myself whether or not I was even capable of being a hero. Once I had determined how weak my powers were, I had gotten pretty depressed. If I had petitioned to join the Wards I probably would have been laughed right out once they found out how little I was capable of. On the other hand, what could I use my powers for besides heroing? I didn't have to worry about stubbing my toe in the middle of the night when I went to use the bathroom but beyond that, I couldn't think of a lot of situations where having a body slightly better than normal would be useful. Wasn't like I could go into sports, they tested for parahuman abilities and even one as weak as mine would probably come up positive.

After much back and forth arguing, I now found myself walking through the Docks, in the middle of the night, looking for a crime to stop. I would probably still be at home debating it if the girls at school hadn't been such bitches on Friday making me want to do something good I could be proud of. I had spent the weekend getting my costume together. My costume was...well there was no sugarcoating it, it was crap. Old pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a balaclava. I didn't look like a superhero, I looked like a gang member about to commit a crime. Most of my money had gone into my belt and its various accouterments. I had a taser, pepper spray, a miniature first aid kit (for criminals, wasn't like I was going to need it), and some zip ties since I couldn't afford handcuffs. I had debated wearing a jacket (despite, oddly enough, the fact that I didn't find it that cold out) so I wouldn't look so pathetic but decided against it since that would just give people more surface area to grab in a fight. Practicality trumped looking good when things got dangerous.

My wandering was interrupted by a commotion down the block. It was a group of young guys, walking briskly towards an alleyway which was already inhabited by more guys. The light wasn't great but I was pretty sure they were all asian and that could only mean one thing: they were ABB.

 _It's not racist to assume that a group of young men, all of whom are Asian, that are grouping up in the middle of the night in ABB territory are members of the gang, right?_

I crouched down and crept along, trying to get closer to the group to see if I could overhear anything suspicious. I was reasonably certain I could win a one-on-one fight with a normal person but I didn't know how effective my healing power would be if twenty different people took turns beating on me.

As I poked my head around the corner I noticed someone that made my breath catch in my throat. Standing head and shoulders above everyone else was a large, shirtless man in a metallic dragon mask.

 _Slowly back away Taylor. Nice and quiet, no way can I take on a freaking dragon._

It was at that moment that I heard what it was Lung was saying. "…the children, just shoot. Doesn't matter your aim, just shoot. You see one lying on the ground? Shoot the little bitch twice more to be sure. We give them no chances to be clever or lucky, understand?"

I stopped in my tracks. _Lung wants to kill kids? I knew he was a criminal but...really?_

Outnumbered or not, there was no way I could walk away from this. I wanted to be a hero and what kind of hero would I be if I just let Lung and his gang murder some children?

 _Wish I had a cell phone, I could call the professional heroes and let them know what's going on._

I made a promise to myself that if I made it out of this alive, the next thing I was buying was a phone.

I straightened up and steeled my nerves. _Stand tall Taylor, you don't need to win, just stall them long enough for the authorities notice the commotion._

"Hey!" I called out as I walked into the mouth of the alleyway. "As a hero I'm ordering you all to disperse this instant."

 _My voice didn't quaver during that, go me!_

Lung glanced over at me and snorted. With a casual wave of his hand a line of fire arced through the air to strike me in the face.

I admit it, I screamed. Having my face lit on fire hurt. Didn't help that the mask I was wearing was also burning. I then proceeded to beat the fire out.

 _Punching myself in the face, I have reached a new low._

My face was sensitive to the touch and I was pretty sure my mask had melted onto my skin in places, but I was otherwise okay. I was no longer in pain.

 _That probably just means the nerves in my face are damaged. My powers take a couple seconds to deal with knife wounds, no way they're healing burned skin that quickly._

With the fire taken care of, I assumed a boxing stance and tried to look nonchalant about getting attacked.

"That was your opportunity to run away with you tail between your legs, girl," Lung said as he walked through the crowd. "That you failed to do so speaks well for your courage but reflects poorly on your intelligence."

"I'm a hero," I said without squeaking in fear. _Man, I'm on fire tonight with the speeches coming out smoothly...wow brain, did you really just go there?_ "Heroes stand up to villains like you."

Lung let out a deep, booming laugh. "Very well hero, put up a good enough fight and I might let you live."

As soon as the last word left his lips he leapt forward, faster than he should rightly be able to move, and punched me square in the face. I felt my nose break beneath his knuckles and I fell backwards, blood flowing down my face as I landed on my butt.

"Pathetic," Lung rumbled, looming over me like a muscular grim reaper. He pulled back a leg and then swung it around to roundhouse kick me in the side of the head.

I went from a sitting position to limply laying on the sidewalk. All I could hear was blood pounding in my ears but I could feel it pooling beneath my face and taste it in my mouth. My jaw refused to work and there as pain when I tried to speak.

I was vaguely aware of Lung turning away from my fallen form and walking back to talk towards his gang. I just focused on breathing and staying conscious.

 _Don't pass out, I pass out and who knows what could happen. Stay awake, keep breathing._

My vision wasn't going cloudy so that was good and some of the pain was beginning to fade.

 _Air goes in the lungs, hold, air is released. Repeat._

My hearing seemed to have returned to normal, I could make out multiple voices though most of them didn't appear to be speaking English so I didn't know what they were talking about. Might have been an argument but it was rather subdued, probably because no one wanted to annoy Lung.

I became aware of an incredibly weird sensation, my nose was straightening itself out and the bones were knitting themselves together.

 _My healing power can handle broken bones? Then why'd it take time to fix the knife wounds when I was testing?_ I sighed in relief as the last of the pain in my head disappeared. _Maybe it just takes a bit of time to kick into effect._

I sat up and then rose to my feet with a minimum amount of shaking. Some of the ABB members pointed at me.

This time Lung didn't speak, he just launched a fireball at me.

When it exploded I was blown off my feet and landed in the street. Judging from the cries of pain Lung had caught some of his own men in the blast. I doubted he cared.

I surveyed the scene as I stood up. I could see several gang members frantically pulling burning clothes off of themselves and stomping on it, a nearby telephone pole had smoke trailing off of it, there was trash scattered all around that was aflame, but I wasn't on fire.

 _Did the force of the explosion put out the fire on me? I was at the epicenter of it._

"You are rapidly going from pitiful to annoying," Lung growled at me.

He strode up to me with a very clear sense of purpose and wrapped one of his massive hands around my neck and began to squeeze. I tried to punching and kicking at him, but as a waifish fifteen year old girl I just didn't have the strength necessary to hurt a cape of Lung's caliber. I felt myself starting to grow weak as my air supply was cut off...and then Lung eased his grip and I could breath. I took a few rapid gasps of air before he began choking me again.

And then, once again, Lung's grip slackened and I was able to breath. He repeated this three more times before he growled and choke-slammed me into the pavement. It hurt, but not nearly as much as I expected.

"Do you think to mock me by acting weak?!" Lung shouted. It took me a second to realize that that was directed at me.

"I'm a hero," I said as I pulled myself to my feet and assumed a fighting stance. I was starting to feel a bit more confident since my healing power was doing a good job of keeping up with the damage I was receiving. "I'm just trying to stop a villain. Don't have to beat you, just keep you here until the Protectorate shows up."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say as the next thing I knew I was bathed in flame. It was a steady stream of fire, expanding outward like a cone from Lung's hand as it surrounded me. My nerves screamed at me as my skin burned. The very air hurt my lungs when I inhaled, it had been heated so hotly.

Having faith in my power's ability to heal me since it hadn't failed yet, I closed my eyes and counted to ten. By the time I opened them I was no longer in pain. I glanced down at my hands and noticed that they looked different, shiny. Like they were coated with a chemical.

 _Actually, there most definitely is a chemical on my hands._ I could see it bubbling in the fire that was still engulfing my body. My skin was unharmed beneath it though. _Did my powers make me secrete a chemical to deal with the fire? Am I adapting to damage, not just healing from it?_

I looked up from my hands and tried to see through the flames to where Lung was standing. He was starting to gleam as the light reflected off of the scales that were growing out of his skin which meant he was getting tougher, stronger.

 _I wonder how far I can take this..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Armsmaster drove down the streets at a fast, but not breakneck, speed. Reports had started coming in that Lung was fighting someone in the docks. The most likely culprits were the Empire 88. The Merchants, drug-addled as they were, were at least smart enough to know they couldn't beat Lung. The Empire had so many capes that, combined with their racist view of Asians, meant they were bound to make periodic attacks against the gang leader.

So it came as quite a surprise to Colin when he screeched around a corner and saw Lung in the middle of the street, squaring off against Hellhound's three beasts. Actually, there as another figure in the street, and it wasn't Hellhound. It was a teenager, stick thin, with the burnt remains of clothing barely hanging on her body and exposing parts of her anatomy. The girl seemed to be the focus of Lung's ire but he kept having to shift his attention to fight off the dog monsters.

 _If Hellhound is here there's a strong likelihood the rest of her group is nearby. Regent can momentarily master my muscles and Grue has darkness creation. Still haven't figured out what Tattletale's powers are, some kind of Thinker is the most likely probability given the group's timely escapes. Lung is a known entity so that leaves the new girl as the biggest mystery._

"Armsmaster to Console. Lung is currently fighting Hellhound's dogs at the corner of Baker and Johnson. Undersiders are likely nearby but I don't have a visual. Unknown parahuman is also on scene, fighting Lung."

"Roger that, Armsmaster," said the nameless PRT employee on the other end. "Velocity and Miss Militia are inbound to your location.

Armsmaster quickly parked his motorcycle and grabbed his halberd off of his back. It unfolded with a snap and began humming with energy as it powered up.

"Stand down Lung!"

Lung glanced over at Armsmaster and gave a snort of disinterest and turned his attention back towards the girl.

The dismissive attitude that Lung showed towards him annoyed Colin more than he would ever admit to himself.

Lung breathed deep and exhaled a torrent fire. One of the dog's scrambled out of the way but the girl didn't even attempt to dodge.

When Lung ran out of breath and the fire ceased, the girl remained standing in the exact spot she had been, giggling.

"Is that the best you can do? I've gotten worse burns than that using a hair straightener!"

 _Some kind of fire immunity so she might be a Breaker. A lot of fire-based Blasters tend to be resistant to heat but I haven't seen her shoot anything at Lung yet. Whatever the case, I don't have to worry as much about Lung killing her...unless he gets his hands on her but the dogs are doing a good job running interference. Is she a new member of the Undersiders?_

Armsmaster ran forward, while keeping an eye on the three dogs, and interposed himself between Lung and the gang leader's quarry. He brought his halberd up into a guard position.

"I said, stand down Lung."

The leader of the ABB didn't answer, instead, he barreled forward. Given that Lung had already reached eight feet in height and was covered in hard scales, it wasn't a terrible tactic. If the half-dragon could shove past Armsmaster he would be able to get his claws into the girl and kill her in short order. Luckily, Colin had developed predictive combat software and had been studying Lung extensively so he knew exactly what to do in response.

Armsmaster flipped his halberd around and, from the bottom of the pole, launched a minor explosive charge. It had originally been included for quickly knocking down doors or walls in the event that rapid entry to a room was required. In this case, it served perfectly adequately in tripping Lung by blowing out his kneecap.

 _Not that I would try that trick with anyone that wasn't a Brute._

Lung got his good leg under him and tried to rise to his feet but this gave Armsmaster the opportunity he had been waiting for. Stepping forward, he jabbed the end of his halberd into Lung's shoulder and injected a specialized designed tranquilizer serum that Colin had developed with help from Dragon. It should target specific areas of the brain to induce feelings of apathy and tiredness in the subject. Theoretically, it was the perfect counter to Lung's powers. It would take a little bit of time to kick into effect however.

Armsmaster stepped back and twirled his halberd around in his hands like a cheerleader baton. Personally, Colin thought it was a waste of energy but repeated studies (both from the PRT's PR department and personal favors from Dragon) had shown that people thought the motion gave him an air of authority and professionalism.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" Armsmaster asked the girl behind him while Lung struggled to his feet.

"I'm fine. Lung tried punching me, kicking me, choking me, and burning me. I healed right through it all. Hurt at first but I got used to it." The girl paused. "Is it bad that I'm a little disappointed you showed up? I'm curious what he had left to try on me."

Colin resisted the urge to chastise the girl. She sounded new to her powers and was probably eager to test her limits. He remembered what it had been like when he was still learning about his specialty and he wanted to tinker all the time.

"That's a discussion for another time, I think."

Lung shook his head back and forth, clearly attempting to fight off the effects of the tranquilizer.

A sharp whistle cut through the air and when of the dogs lunged forward and slammed into Lung's back. The gang leader stumbled forward and Colin slammed his halberd straight into Lung's sternum.

This was a careful balancing act. They needed to hurt Lung enough to keep him off balance so the sedative could kick in but not so much that the pain kept him awake. With his combat software Armsmaster was confident he could manage that on his own but with Hellhound's dogs here all the information being provided to him was more-or-less useless.

On the other hand, the dogs seemed to be waiting for something.

 _Just what kind of Thinker is Tattletale? Could she know not to hurt Lung too badly and is relaying that to Hellhound?_

Lung swayed where he stood. He took a step forward to steady himself but then his head lulled and he fell face forward onto the pavement. Colin could already see the scales retracting.

Suddenly, the three dogs bolted from their positions on the street. They climbed their way up a nearby building until they reached the roof. Colin could make out the Undersiders climbing onto the backs of the beasts before they monsters leapt out of sight.

"So what were those things?"

Colin turned back to look at the regenerator. Now that there wasn't a fight going on he could appraise her in a bit more detail.

After giving her a once-over glance Colin kept his eyes firmly above her shoulders. The girl's clothes had been threadbare when he arrived, now they were nonexistent. She had more soot on her body than she did cotton. Her face was covered in splotches that indicated she had been wearing a mask of some synthetic material that had melted onto her skin. Whatever hair she had had before was simply gone. Colin had thought her skin had a strange sheen to it, but he didn't want to look down to confirm that.

"Those dogs belonged to a criminal known as Hellhound. She is part of a small group of parahumans known as the Undersiders."

"Wonder why they helped me fight Lung," the girl wondered aloud while she tapped her chin.

"Are you a villain?" Colin asked as he activated his lie detection software.

"What? No, I'm a hero! Or I'm planning on being one anyway."

TRUTH flashed across the HUD of Colin's visor.

"You're telling the truth." Colin relaxed his grip on his halberd. Just because she had been an enemy of Lung didn't automatically mean she wasn't a criminal but now he had confirmation. "Excuse me a moment while I secure Lung."

Armsmaster walked over to where he had left his motorcycle and pulled out a different halberd. This new one was less of a hassle to refill the containment foam in so when given the option, he used that instead of his standard halberd.

After spraying Lung with a liberal amount of foam, Colin turned back to the new girl, making sure to keep his gaze locked on her forehead to prevent it from wandering.

"Do you have a name miss?"

"Ta-oh wait you mean a cape name," the girl frowned. "No, I don't. This is only my first night out."

TRUTH

 _Seriously? Are new Triggers getting stupider or am I getting that old?_ "Your first night out and you got in a fight with Lung?"

The girl chuckled, it was a nervous laugh. "When I left the house tonight I had no idea I could heal this much. It took a couple seconds to heal from small knicks from a knife when I first discovered I had powers. Taunting Lung was the stupidest thing I've ever done. Only reason I did it was because I heard him telling his gang to shoot kids."

TRUTH

"He was probably referring to the Undersiders. Rumor is they robbed one of his casinos a few weeks ago. Would explain why they helped you out against him."

"Oh."

The conversation stalled out. Colin wasn't sure where to go from here so he settled for a safe conversation topic.

"Have you considered joining the Wards?"

"Not really. Like I said before tonight I thought my power was pretty weak, too weak to be a hero." The girl's voice got a lot quieter. "Only reason I went out tonight was because I was tired of not having anything good in my life. Thought if I stopped a mugging or something I'd have something I could be proud of."

TRUTH

The girl made a motion as if to run her fingers through her hair but then got a look of confusion on her face as her hand found only air. Using both hands, she began patting her scalp. Colin saw the girl's expression morph into what could only be described as terror.

" **MY HAIR!** "

Colin winced. He had heard victims of gunshot wounds scream quieter.

"Ohbadisit? ItfeelslikeIhavenothingthere!" The girl shrieked a second time. " **My clothes!** "

 _I am_ _ **so**_ _not equipped to deal with this. Actually…_

"Armsmaster to Console."

"Go ahead Armsmaster."

"Lung is unconscious. I'd bring him in but then I wouldn't have room for a new parahuman, temporary designation...Voorhees. She needs a set of clothes to wear."

"Miss Militia is enroute to your location in a helicopter. Could Voorhees ride in that?"

"Stand by." Armsmaster turned towards the girl who was frantically moving her arms in various patterns as she attempted to figure out the best way to cover herself. Colin made sure that his head was pointed upwards so she wouldn't think he was peaking. "Miss Militia will be arriving shortly in a helicopter. They'll have blankets of some kind for you to cover yourself with. Would you like to ride back with her to the PRT building? We have plenty of extra clothes there you can wear."

"Y-yea, that sounds like a good idea. I don't think I should walk home stark naked."

TRUTH

"Armsmaster to Console, that is a go for Voorhees riding in the helicopter."

"10-4."

The girl seemed to be have settled on how to cover herself and was now paying attention to what Colin had said. "...did you just make up a cape name for me?"

"Oh, needed a name for the paperwork I'll have to fill out later. It's just temporary, don't worry."

"Okay."

The two parahumans stood in awkward silence. Colin kept an eye on Lung while the girl seemed to shrink in on herself. When the noise of an approaching helicopter could be heard she headed over to an alley, presumably because she didn't want to flash any more people than necessary.

When the helicopter touched down on the road, Miss Militia hopped out along with two PRT troopers. Colin's second-in-command approached him while the troopers took positions next to Lung's fallen form.

"I was told you met a new parahuman we'd be taking back to the PRT building?"

TRUTH

 _Damn it. Forgot to turn that off._

"Yes, she's back there." Colin jerked his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the alleyway while deactivating his lie detector with a flick of his eyes. "Her clothes were destroyed in the fight so she's hiding. I hope we have something in the chopper to lend her?"

Miss Militia's brow furrowed as she thought about it. "Should have some fireproof blankets."

"I shall leave her in your capable hands then."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

In the movies, whenever someone is given a blanket by paramedics or whoever, they always drape it over the person's shoulders. Miss Militia did the same thing to me when she approached with a blanket she had grabbed from the helicopter. It may have been the correct call when someone needed heat or comforting, but I needed coverage. I didn't want to have a big section down my front exposed so I quickly readjusted the blanket around me like a towel or a toga. Once I was satisfied that my modesty was protected, I looked at Miss Militia.

"So...what happens now?"

"Well first we get you checked out a doctor to make sure you're okay."

I shrugged. "I feel fine but if you insist."

Miss Militia paused. "You're not in pain?"

I held up a hand and wiggled my fingers to show off. "Nope, I was hurt pretty badly earlier but I healed through it and then body started making this greasy chemical that protected me from Lung's fire." I frowned as I examined my hand. "I think I'm still producing the stuff, wonder how I make it stop."

I wiped my hand on the blanket and examined my palm. _Still greasy._ I wiped it on the blanket again and then looked at it. _Man, how much of the stuff is on me?_ I started vigorously wringing my hand back and forth in the blanket. I was doing it so hard and fast I half expected to start a fire from the friction. _And wouldn't that be ironic?_ I finally looked at my hand.

"Why won't it stop? I'm not on fire anymore, I don't need you!" I screamed at my hand.

"Alright, calm down," Miss Militia said placatingly. "Take a breath."

Realizing that my screaming probably wasn't helping the situation, I did what I was told.

"Now," the hero said gently. "There are a number of very intelligent doctors working for the PRT, as well as plenty of Tinkers and Thinkers. I'm sure one of them will be able to help you figure out how your powers work if you wanted to ride back with me."

"What? No, I need to get home soon before my dad wakes up. Plus, I need to go to sleep soon because I have school in the morning…" I looked at my hands, covered in chemicals like they were there was no way I could go to school without being outed as a parahuman.

 _Maybe I could wear gloves?_

Miss Militia didn't say anything. I got the feeling she already knew where both my mind and this conversation were going to end up and was willing to let me work it out for myself rather than push me along.

 _That still leaves the problem of my hair._ I sniffled at the loss of my beloved curls. _Any hat I wore could easily be stolen off my head and we aren't supposed to wear hats in school anyway…_

I sighed.

"Alright," I said meekly. "I'll come with you."

Miss Militia let out a warm chuckle. "There's no need to sound you're being sent to prison, we aren't going to arrest you."

"No, I just…I thought my powers sucked, I could barely heal myself from little knife wounds at first. Then I find out I can get in a fight with freaking Lung and walk away unharmed. Suddenly, my stupid power doesn't seem so stupid. I was looking forward to going home and figuring it out. If someone else figures it out…" I trailed off, not sure how to articulate what it was I was feeling.

"Then you won't feel as special. You don't want someone else knowing your power better than you do because it's _your_ power."

"Yes!" I paused as I thought about it. "Does that make me selfish?"

"Not at all," Miss Militia said, reassuringly. "It makes you normal."

I snorted. "I stood there while Lung tried and failed to kill me, multiple time. Normal has gone out the window."

"Fair enough. Now then, you say you're not in pain, can you feel the patches on your face? I think they're where you mask melted."

* * *

The ride back to the PRT building was uncomfortable. Not because of anything anyone had done, Miss Militia and the PRT guys in the chopper were nothing but polite. It was uncomfortable because I realized I had no options.

When I had first discovered I was a parahuman I had dismissed the whole cape scene as a possibility because I thought my powers were too weak. At some point during the aftermath of the fight with Lung I had realized that I could go be a legitimate hero and I had been excited about it.

 _Now there's only one possibility,_ I thought sullenly. _Join the Wards._

It wasn't that I hated the Wards, though I was worried it would just be high school with superpowers, I hated the fact that the choice was taken out of my hands.

 _Not like I could join New Wave and get them to fix my powers...wait a second. I could totally do that! Panacea is a healer, if my powers are misbehaving she should be able to make them go back to normal!_

I was a little worried that if she did something my powers would go back to being weak but that could be worth it if my skin stopped looking as greasy as a burger from Fugly Bob's.

 _Wonder if she could regrow my hair?_

Then again, joining New Wave would require unmasking and if my powers went back to being weak that was the last thing I wanted. Plus, that would probably make things difficult for Dad.

I wasn't happy with the idea of joining New Wave, I might decide to stick with the Wards after all, but I did like the fact that I knew I had options now.  
 _  
No matter which team I join they're probably going to want to talk to Dad._

That was a conversation I was not looking forward to. It was hard enough talking to Dad about normal day-to-day stuff. Talking to him about the fact that I was a parahuman and had gotten in a fight with the leader of the ABB? I can't even imagine how that would go.

 _Dad's still at home asleep right now. I'm going to have to call and wake him up and tell him to come down to pick me up._

I put my head in my hands.

I **really** was not looking forward to this.

* * *

"You fought LUNG!?"

I tried not to flinch as Dad yelled at me. To be fair, fighting Lung was a pretty dumb thing to do for the vast majority of people.

I was then engulfed in another bone crushing hug.

When Dad had first come into the conference room and seen the state I was in he had immediately rushed forward and held me for a good minute. Seeing me without my hair and wearing PRT provided clothes would certainly cause his mind to leap to the worst possible scenario. But my fighting Lung was beyond the pale for even him to imagine. Thus: the second hug.

"I was so worried about you when I realized you went out," Dad whispered to me. "And now you're telling me you did **the** most dangerous thing anyone in this city can do."

I could only nod in his embrace.

"I was a wreck after losing your mother, I don't think I could survive losing you too."

That was not something I had expected to hear. Sure, on an intellectual level I knew that Dad cared about me but it was obvious he had trouble showing it. Between Mom dying and me being a teenage girl, Dad had a lot of trouble connecting with me though it wasn't all his fault. I hadn't told him about the situation at school because I liked that fact that home was a place I didn't have to think about that. And after the locker Dad had tried to get more involved but I had been so depressed because I hadn't liked my power that I had barely noticed his attempts. Hearing the emotion in his voice as he talked about his fear of me dying, that was a wake-up call.

"I'm so-sorry Dad, I ju-just wanted to do the right thing. I couldn't walk away." I was able to keep myself from breaking into tears, but just barely.

"Indeed Mr. Hebert. Your daughter's powers seemed to be a good counter to Lung. She was able to heal through any damage he did and her body starting manufacturing the grease to combat his fire."

Dad and I jumped in surprise. Seems we had both forgotten Miss Militia was in the room with us.

"So, uh, she fought Lung?" Dad asked as we retook our seats.

I wasn't entirely sure because of the scarf, but I think Miss Militia was smiling as she spoke. "Indeed, she was able to keep him busy long enough for Armsmaster to subdue and capture him. Without her, the gang leader might still be out on the street."

"Oh, well that's good."

Dad seemed torn between wanting to be proud of me for stopping a dangerous criminal and horrified that his only child had fought someone that could beat the entire local Protectorate team. Personally, I was feeling the same thing right along with him. Fighting Lung with what I thought my power had been was **stupid**.

"Speaking of the grease," Dad said as he looked at his now stained shirt from where my hands and face had made contact. "Any chance of figuring out how to turn it off?"

"Taylor tells me she has no control over it. Her body only started making it in response to the fire so it might go away on its own but if that turns out to not be the case we'll contact New Wave in the morning and ask Panacea to take a look."

"Oh, well that's good." Dad paused, apparently realizing he had repeated himself. "Sorry, I just-I'm not sure what to say in this situation."

"It's quite all right, very few parents handle their children becoming parahumans very smoothly."

Dad drummed his fingers against his knee. "Alright, so we wait to see if Taylor goes back to normal in the morning and if not, give you a call. Anything else that needs to be done?"

"Well that sort of depends on Taylor here," Miss Militia said, looking at me.

"It does?" I asked.

The superheroine nodded. "While I think the Wards are the best option and that you should give serious consideration to joining, you aren't required to and we can't force you. If you do want to join, or at least think about it, there is some paperwork I can give you to take home that explains a lot of what would be involved in that. How much you'd be paid, hours you'd work, what would be expected of you in school, what sorts of criminals you'd be expected to help stop, what sorts of criminals you'd be expected to run away from. That sort of thing."

"Oh, well it wouldn't hurt to look into it, at least. Right, Dad?"

Dad looked at me with a worried frown on his face. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the thought of you running around fighting crime, but you are right. We need to look at what your options are before making a decision."

"Very well, I shall go collect the paperwork," Miss Militia said as she stood up. "We've got your contact information and-" Miss Militia withdrew a card from her pocket. "Here's mine. Once I return you two are free to head home. If either of you have any questions or concerns, please, do not hesitate to call me."

After Miss Militia had left the room, Dad turned to look at me. "So...she seems nice."

"Yea," I agreed. "She wasn't pushy or anything."

"Taylor," my Dad said quietly. "Is this what you want? To join the Wards?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "I want to be a hero. I want to do something good, something I can look back on and be proud of. Maybe that means joining the Wards." I shrugged. "Maybe it means joining New Wave."

My father sighed. "I realize it's probably a pipe dream given that you're a cape in Brockton Bay, but I just want you to be safe Taylor."

I smiled. "Don't worry Dad. Whatever we decided on, even if I do get hurt, I'm a quick healer."

* * *

The shower I had taken when we'd gotten home last night had helped cut down on the grease but only for a few minutes. So I had resigned myself to making a mess of my sheets while I slept. Waking up this morning, I now knew what it felt like to be a fast-food burrito. I was wrapped in a blanket that had absorbed so much grease it was probably more liquid than solid at this point.

I climbed out of bed and made my way over to the mirror I had in my room. Staring back was a thin girl with a too-wide mouth, a bald head, and skin that had a tell-tale shine of grease on it. In other words: me.

I couldn't decide whether to feel depressed that I was now as ugly as the girls at school always said I was or happy that my power had turned out to not suck.

My internal debate was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Taylor, are you awake in there? I heard movement, wanted to check if things are back to normal...you know, relatively speaking"

"No, I'm still a greasy mess. We'll have to give Miss Militia a call, see if she knows anyone that can fix me."

"Alright, go ahead and get dressed. I'll ring her up while I make breakfast."

"Thanks, Dad."

I searched through my dresser for a set of clothes that I didn't care about until I realized that that was everything I owned. The stuff that I had enjoyed wearing had long since been ruined by various 'accidents' at school. Everything still in my dresser was now old, ratty, and worn.

Grabbing a random pair of jeans and a shirt, I got dressed and headed down the stairs.

I entered the kitchen just as Dad was hanging up the phone.

"What's the news?" I asked.

Dad put a plate of scrambled eggs on the table in front of me. "Miss Militia said we should head over the to PRT building. She'll have Panacea meet us there as well as Armsmaster. Between the two of them, she says they should at least have an idea on where to go from there if they can't fix you...not that you aren't fine the way you are! I just-"

"Dad," I interrupted before he dug himself any deeper. "I know what you mean, relax, it's fine."

He nodded, embarrassed. "Sorry, I'm trying to be understanding but this is all so new to me I keep worrying that I'm going to put my foot in my mouth."

"It's alright, really," I said as I started eating. "It's not like I'm going to burst into tears just because of a random comment."

"Thanks," Dad said as he walked up next to me. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head and then immediately started gagging. He grabbed his nearly empty coffee cup and gargled the last of the drink before spitting it in the sink.

"Are you okay Dad? I'm not poisonous am I?" I tried to make it sound like a joke but my voice was clearly strained.

"Bleh," my father said as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Well, I can't say I know what most kinds of poisons taste like but what say we get a move on just in case? I didn't swallow any of it so I should be safe to for the drive, at least."

"Yea, let's do that," I said as I quickly shoveled the last of my breakfast in my mouth.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Dad drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

"I thought the rush hour traffic going to work was bad but this is just ridiculous."

I could only nod in agreement, we hadn't moved more than a car length in twenty minutes.  
 _  
Hope we don't cause too much of a problem by being late_ , I thought to myself. _Even if there is an issue, Miss Militia seemed really nice. I doubt she'll do anything like refuse to see us._

 _Besides, even if something comes up and I can't join the Wards, I could always join New Wave._ I looked down at my hands. _That might even work out for my benefit if I can't be fixed._

Members of New Wave were popular. Members of New Wave were well liked and respected. Members of New Wave went out on dates.

I looked at my hands again.

 _Okay, so maybe that's being a little optimistic. Either way, if I can't hide my powers New Wave might be the better option than the Wards. They're all about accountability, after all. Less likely I'll have to deal with teenage BS from them as opposed to a bunch of secretive government superheroes. That just screams cliquey and I don't want to be the new girl on the bottom of the totem pole._

Dad's voice interrupted my thoughts. "You're different Taylor, in a good way I mean."

"Huh?"

Dad fidgeted in his seat.

"Ever since the locker you've been…" he trailed off.

"Depressed," I finished. "I've been depressed, not quite suicidal, but definitely depressed."

"Yeah, that. But when we were talking to Miss Militia last night, on the drive home, and our interactions this morning. You've been smiling when you think no one's looking."

"Really?" I honestly hadn't noticed.

"Yeah. I just wanted to tell you that I'm glad. Anything that makes you smile more is a good thing in my book. If you want to talk about it I'm here, but don't feel pressured if you don't want to."

I sighed.

"It's not that I don't want to talk to you Dad, it's that...I enjoyed that I didn't have to think about school when I was at home. It was safe, away from all the problems. Then the locker happened and suddenly school became the elephant in the room. You didn't press me on it, and I'm thankful for that, but it was still there."

I paused and collected my thoughts.

"Combine that with the fact that I had, what I thought was, a near-useless power and I'm left with a situation where two things that should be good, home and suddenly having superpowers, weren't helping improve my mood. Because of that things just kept slowly going downhill."

I was thankful for the fact that we were in a car, it meant I could stare straight ahead and not have to look my Dad in the face.

"The only reason I even went out last night was because Friday at school was...it was bad, not locker bad but I just had to do something positive with myself. Stop a mugging or something."

I could see Dad nodding out of the corner of my eye.

"And then rather than stop a mugging I got in a fight with Lung, and I won. I mean, I had help and Armsmaster is more responsible for making Lung stop but I still helped capture a dangerous criminal. On top of that, I got to meet Armsmaster and Miss Militia! Real, legitimate superheroes. And they want me to join them."

I grinned and looked over at my Dad.

"So yeah, I guess I have a lot more reason to smile now. Things are looking up."

Dad smiled. "Just think, in a few years parents might buy their kids underwear with your name on it instead of Armsmaster's."

I groaned.

* * *

I sat as still as possible as Armsmaster waved a beeping metal stick thing in front of me. He hadn't said much since Dad and I had arrived, guess he was annoyed that we were half an hour late.

Miss Militia, by contrast, was as friendly as ever. She was chatting with my Dad about something or other. I had tuned them out once they started swapping managerial stories about their jobs. _So then he turned in a TPS report without a coversheet! No way, seriously? I know, after I had already told him about the new policy. Peons, amirite?_ That's how I imagined the conversation was going, anyway.

Meanwhile, off in the corner, Glory Girl ( _or should I call her Victoria since she's out of costume? Introductions were kinda rushed since we were late_ ) sat and fiddled with her phone, occasionally glancing up at me and the final person in the room.

Panacea (who hadn't even bothered introducing herself, I thought I remembered reading somewhere that her name was Amy but I wasn't sure) was holding my hand and talking to Armsmaster. I tried, I really tried to follow what she was saying but there was just too much medical jargon for me to keep track of it. I wasn't dumb, I had taken a biology class last year, but the stuff Panacea was talking to Armsmaster about was definitely more advanced than a high school science class. _Cellular adaptation to outside stimuli resulting in hyperplasia, metaplasia and even dysplasia...whatever that means._

Best I was able to figure out from the snatches of conversation I was able to understand was my power adapted to heal me based on whatever was hurting me. The reason I had thought all I had was a weak healing power was because I had only tested it with small injuries that I could have handled even if I wasn't a parahuman so my body hadn't bothered to change much. The fight with Lung had kicked my power into high gear.

The problem was, if that was actually how my power worked, then I was destined to turn into a monstrous cape if I got in too many fights.

"Alright, I've gotten as many readings as I can," Armsmaster said. "Ready to make the attempt Panacea?"

Panacea nodded. "As ready as I'm going to be. Taylor, Mr. Hebert, before I begin I want to make sure I have **informed** consent. I heal sick people, what I'm about to try isn't healing, not really. I'm basically attempting a factory reset. It should work but you both need to understand that this is outside the realm of normality for me so there could be any sorts of strange side effects. You can never predict how powers interact."

"Taylor?" Dad asked worryingly.

"It won't kill me will it?"

Panacea shook her head. "Of the various potential outcomes no, I don't think that's a possibility."

"Then go ahead."

"Alright."

I stood there while Panacea presumably used her powers on me, judging from the look of intense concentration on her face. I honestly didn't feel anything. I resisted the urge to whistle.

"Okay, I think I'm done," she said, sounding momentarily exhausted.

"Really?"

Miss Militia handed me a roll of paper towels. "Check for yourself."

I tore off a few pieces and wiped my hands off. I then watched them carefully.

"They're staying clean!" I said after several moments.

I looked at Panacea. "You probably hear this a ton, but thank you so much."

The healer just nodded. "I wasn't sure what length your hair usually is so I just made it slightly past shoulder length."

"My hair?" Between the awe at meeting two members of New Wave and being rushed because we were late, I had completely forgotten to ask Panacea if she could regrow it. Apparently, she could. I patted my head. "I have hair!"

"And just when I was starting to get used to the cueball look," my Dad teased.

I chose to ignore him and looked at Panacea. "Anything I need to know?"

"Avoid fire if you don't want to end up all greasy again. Like I said, I didn't 'cure' you, I just reset everything."

"So I should avoid picking fights with men that can turn into dragons, got it."

"Well if that's everything, we should really be going Ames. We're already missed first period, don't want to lose the whole day," Glory Girl said, rising from her seat in the corner.

"Oh, before you go," I said, stopping the sisters from leaving the room. "Would it be possible to set up a meeting with Lady Photon? I wanted to discuss the possibility of joining New Wave."

"You want to join New Wave?" Glory Girl asked. She sounded genuinely surprised.

"I want to explore my options before I commit to anything. Not saying I will join." I turned to look at Miss Militia. "And I'm not saying I won't join the Wards. I'm saying I want to learn more before I make my decision."

Glory Girl looked at Panacea who just shrugged. Glory Girl turned back to me with a smile on her face. "I'll ask tonight, see what she says. Miss Militia has your contact info, right?"

I nodded.

"K, I'll ask Gallant to get it from her later. Now we really should be going."

The two members of New Wave left the room while Armsmaster bustled about, looking at his equipment.

"So where do we go from here?" Dad asked Miss Militia.

"Well," she answered. "If Armsmaster has everything he needs you can take Taylor to school."

 _Ugh, school. There goes my good mood._

"An idea did occur to me though," Miss Militia continued. "I could schedule a meeting with one of the Wards, if you wanted to talk to them Taylor. Just a chance to ask questions, find out their perspective."

"Yea, I'd like that. Did you have anyone in mind?"

"I'll have to find out the patrol schedule to know when someone is free. I'll be in touch."

* * *

I tried to make it through the week, I really did.

After Panacea had fixed my grease problem, I had been in a great mood. Having to put up with the comments about my hair that day had dampened said mood, but hadn't killed it. Later that night we had received two phone calls at the house. The first had been Lady Photon who had agreed to meet me for lunch over the weekend. The second was from Miss Militia saying I could meet Gallant and/or Kid Win at the PRT building Friday evening after they finished their patrol. That had given me a boost that got me through Tuesday and Wednesday.

And then today happened. Mrs. Knott's class went by without incident but it was on my way to my next class with Mr. Gladly, that things deteriorated. A group of girls cornered me in the hallway and managed to back me against the wall without ever actually touching me. I would have been impressed with the coordination required to pull it off if I hadn't been the victim of it. They had then proceeded to insult and belittle me without actually talking at me. Normally, their jabs were pretty scattershot. I was a skank who would sleep with anyone, I was so ugly no one would touch me, that sort of thing. This time they had a laser-like focus on my appearance, my hair, and how I now looked like a twelve-year-old boy. And then, just when it seemed to be winding down, Emma stepped in.

"I was wondering why you'd cut your hair," I remembered her saying. "You used to be so proud of it. But now that I think about it, it makes sense that you'd want it short. When it was long it was very reminiscent of your Mom's and you don't need a reminder of her. After all, wouldn't want you to cry yourself to sleep for a week, now would we?"

To most people that would seem bitchy but ultimately ignorable. To me though, it was a jab right at my heart. Shortly after my mother had died, back when Emma and I were still best friends, she had complimented me on how well I was handling things and how strong I seemed. I had confessed that I wasn't strong, that I had cried myself to sleep for a week straight. For Emma to take that moment of vulnerability and trust that I had shared with her, and twist it into a petty insult was more than I could bear so I had walked out of the school. Just flat out left.

I had gotten on a bus and was riding it along its route. I had no plan or destination in mind, I was just trying to get my thoughts in order as I got away from the school.  
 _  
Worst case, I just ride the bus in a loop until school ends and I go home._

It would be highly unlikely that Dad came home earlier, but he had just recently found out I was a parahuman so who knows what would be normal behavior for him in this situation. It was ironic, despite the fact that on the drive to the PRT building I had confessed to Dad that I didn't like talking about school, that I had been depressed, that I was happier now than I had been, I **still** didn't want him to know things were bad enough that I had skipped school.

 _There's gotta be something wrong with me_ , I thought to myself. _No way I can be aware that I'm being obtuse and still not want to tell him._

 _Then again_ , I thought as the bus slowed to a halt. _This is kinda similar to that conversation I had with Miss Militia about figuring out my powers. It's not that I don't want help, it's that I'd rather handle it myself. Yea, that makes sense._

I snorted. _Of course, just because I figured out the reason doesn't mean it's a good one. Alright Miss Smarty Pants, how would you handle it without telling Dad?_

I considered the thought. _Well, it's well known that the Wards go to Arcadia, if I join them I could request a transfer. Actually, all the New Wave kids went to or are still going to Arcadia, but is that official policy?_ I tried to remember where New Wave lived. _No, I think it's just because of their location and the fact that the families have money. Being superheroes probably doesn't automatically get you into the good school. And why is the bus stopped?_

I had assumed we were either at a red light or that we were at a bus stop, neither one was true. I stood up slightly to get a better view, there was a police car blocking an intersection ahead of us. The cop had stopped all traffic from going past him.

 _Wonder what that's about_ , I thought as I started to sit down. As I did so I overheard two college age guys behind me talking.

"Local news hasn't said anything."

"Of course they don't, news casters are turtles. Check PHO and go to the Brockton Bay section, look for new posts."

"I know you spend a lot of time on that site but they aren't going-oh. Look at that. It's a bank robbery. Says the Wards have been called in so that must mean parahumans are involved."

"And you wanted to check the news stations."

"Yeah yeah, shut up."

 _The Wards are going to stop a bank robbery? And parahuman criminals are involved? Should I go help?_

I had fought Lung and won. Very few people could make that claim. So I knew I could help.

 _But I'm not trained, I haven't worked with a team before. Plus I don't have my costume on me._

Those were legitimate concerns.

 _On the other hand, would I be able to live with myself if I found out one of the Wards was seriously hurt when I could have been there to take the injury?_

Deciding that the answer to the question was 'no' I got off the bus and began making my way through past the stopped cars, just as it started to rain. _Oh, this is just perfect weather for this._ Getting past the police car would have been tricky except a driver started cursing at the cop for making him late to work which the officer didn't not appreciate.

As I moved past the blockage I put the hood of my sweater up grabbed the drawstrings and pulled as tight as they would go. Never had I been more glad that this hoodie was big on me. My eyes and nose were the only parts not covered by my impromptu mask.

 _Not the best costume for a cape_. I considered some of the pictures of various Merchant I had seen on the news. _Not the worst one either though._

I approached the end of the block where the bank was. Standing behind a PRT van was practically all the city's teenager superheroes. I didn't see Shadow Stalker but I did recognize Glory Girl. Several members of the group turned to look at me as I walked up.

"Hey Glory Girl, good to see you again. I'm…" _Crap what name did Armsmaster give me again? Wasn't it a horror movie reference? Krueger? Myers?_

"I'm the cape that kept Lung busy until Armsmaster showed up," I said, deciding to skirt around the name issue. Maybe one of the Wards would remember my name.

"Voorhees? Did someone call you? How'd you know about this?" Gallant asked.

 _Voorhees, right that was it._

"I was, um...skipping school and my ride got stopped right over there. Heard there was a bank robbery going on, thought I would come and help out, if I was needed"

I noticed several people in the group looking at Clockblocker, seemingly waiting for him to answer.

 _Weird, I thought Aegis was the captain._

Clockblocker turned to Aegis. "Well, boss? I think another set of hands is always good but it's your call."

"Um, yes! Why not? Clockblocker's right," Aegis said in a voice that was clearly him faking how deep it was. _Guess he wants to sound older or more official._ "Uh, what are your powers, by the way? For anyone here the might not have read Armsmaster's report on the Lung capture."

"I'm a Brute, can heal really fast."

Aegis clapped his hands. "Nice, we can definitely use another one of tho-us. Another one of us! Hellhound's got three dogs so that's one for me, one for Glory Girl, and one for you. That lets the rest of the team deal with the Undersiders."

"Oh, that's the group that helped me fight Lung!" I said, remembering the name from the debriefing with Miss Militia.

Judging by the expressions on their faces, Aegis and Glory Girl were the only ones who were unaware of that fact. Everyone else just sort of nodded.

"Makes sense," Clockblocker said. "They knocked over an ABB casino a few weeks ago. They had to know that would get his attention."

"Ah, that explains it. So what's the plan?"

"You know, since we have three Brutes we can actually be a bit more strategic about it," Gallant said. "Aegis can stand on the front line to protect Clockblocker, Voorhees can hang back and keep an eye on Vista, and Glory Girl can position on the bank's roof to have a view of everything and can try and sneak into rescue hostages if the situation calls for it. Meanwhile, Kid Win and I can run interference as needed."

"I think that's a good plan, any objections boss?" Clockblocker said.

"Uh, nope. Sounds like a good idea, great job Gallant. You okay with following orders, Voorhees?"

I nodded. "I'm still new to all this, you can bet your butt I'll be following orders."

"Good, how much do you know about our powers and the powers of the Undersiders?" Aegis asked.

Before I could answer the doors of the bank slammed open and darkness rolled out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

As the wave of black flooded over me the only thing I could think of was, _Wow, this is dark._

Growing up in a city, you never really experience total darkness at night. There is always a street light, a car driving by, somebody reading in their apartment, always some source of light.

People that lived way out in places like Montana where you could go for miles and not see any sign of humanity were probably familiar with this kind of blackness on nights when the clouds blocked the stars.

I held my hand up in front of my face so close my palm was touching my nose and I still couldn't make anything out.

 _Also, this feels really odd. Like I'm in water or something._

"So guys, are we sticking with the plan?" I called out. Except it didn't sound right. My voice was muffled, like I was trying to shout through a wall.

 _Okay, I can't see and can barely hear myself so I probably can't hear any of the Wards and I doubt they can hear me. I don't want to randomly walk off so what are my optio-who! What the fuck?_

I had felt a tingling in my nose and then I could suddenly locate everybody.

 _Am...am I smelling everyone?_

I inhaled deeply and then immediately regretted it. _Holy crap, somebody needs to put on deodorant!_ One of the people lying on the ground was sweating a lot.

 _Wait, laying on the ground? Huh?_

I was able to tell a group of people who had been in the bank had run out through the darkness and then laid down on the sidewalk and the street.

 _This is cool. I'm sorry I ever thought you were a stupid healing power, Power. What else can I figure out?_

I took a couple more sniffs of the air.

 _Glory Girl flew up onto the bank's roof. Kid Win is hovering above the darkness. Vista managed to back up far enough to stay out of it but it smells like the rest of us got caught. Gallant is walking out but Clockblocker and Aegis are holding their positions...how am I able to identify them by smell? And what the hell is coming out of the bank?_

They were big ( _how am I figuring out their size by their smell?_ ) and they smelled like a combination of wet dog, meat, and bone.

 _Those must be the dog creatures that helped me fight Lung._

The two monsters were the size of cars and were making a beeline straight for Aegis and Clockblocker.

And then something weird happened. The darkness, which had been expanding outwards from the bank stopped being this omnipresent black fog. Parts of the fog rose up, parts of it dropped down, it started splitting off into river like streams rather than pooling outward from the bank. It gave Aegis and Clockblocker enough visibility to see the dogs coming, but not enough time to do anything about it as the dog in the lead collide with Clockblocker and bit down on his arm and carried him away from Aegis.

 _SHIT! That's not good, Clockblocker isn't a Brute! He can't take getting manhandled like that._

I didn't know what I should do. I was supposed to stay and protect Vista and Aegis was supposed to protect Clockblocker... _wait, where did Aegis go anyway?_

Through tendrils of black fog I was able to make out the fallen form of Aegis, lying on the ground next to a cape in a white mask with a crown on his head. He had a scepter pointed at Aegis.

 _WhatdoIdo? WhatdoIdo?_

Kid Win was having trouble flying. I didn't know how he controlled his board but it looked like he was having muscle spasms.

Gallant, meanwhile, was at least able to keep Hellhound busy with his blasts of light. _I think they affect emotions or something? Man, I am woefully under informed when it comes to capes in this city._

I glanced back at Vista. She had her arms outstretched and a look of intense concentration on her face.

 _So she's the one separating the fog so we can see._ I looked around. _I don't see any of the Undersiders nearby, I think I can go rescue Clockblocker._

I ran towards him, which was extremely disorienting due to Vista's spatial warping, and proceeded to punch one of the dogs in the hindquarters as hard as I could. I winced in pain. Considering the thing was a mass of muscle and bone and I was a skinny fifteen year old girl, I probably hurt myself more than I did the dog, which hadn't even noticed my attempt at distracting it.

 _Come on, Clockblocker's life could depend on me!_

I wrapped one hand around the other and brought both of them down on the dog's leg, aiming for the back of the knee. By some miracle (or maybe my power is kicking into effect, who knows) I managed to put enough force into the hit that the dog's leg bent forward and it stumbled, slightly. This enabled Clockblocker to focus on hitting the other dog, whose mouth he was currently stuck in.

 _Why hasn't he frozen them in time yet? Is it because it's biting him?_

The dog I had hit turned towards me and I realized that helping Clockblocker would have to wait a bit.

 _Okay, I fought Lung so I should be to handle a monster dog...doesn't mean this isn't going to hurt though._

And hurt it did, when the dog monster lunged forward it bit me. It would have gotten my face but I was able to bring my arm up and shove that towards its mouth instead. Regardless of what part of me the dog was biting, I was still in a lot of pain.

But then...I wasn't. The dog was still biting my arm, but it didn't really hurt that much anymore. My skin felt weird in the dog's mouth like its teeth were just tiny pinpricks instead of almost crushing my bone.

With a shake of its head, the dog jerked me forward and then threw me back. I soared through the air and skidded against the street. _Ow, road rash._

As I stood up I looked at myself. The arm the dog had bitten had bulked up significantly, but it wasn't with muscle. _Some kind of fluffy padding underneath my skin?_ My other arm was already healing up, but it wasn't back to normal, my skin looked like some kind of leather. I reached up and touched my face through my torn hoodie. My face felt just as leathery as my arm looked. _Well, at least Panacea can turn me back to normal._

Then I heard Vista let out a cry of pain and suddenly the area snapped back to normal. While this meant the rain resumed falling down and trying to walk around wasn't like going through a fun house, it also meant that Grue's darkness was no longer being funneled away from the scene.

I braced myself in case the dog decided to bite me again, but the attack never came. Instead, the dogs scrambled about and before I knew it, they had run back to the bank.

As I made my way back to Vista to check on her, I caught the scent of the dogs as all three of them, with four riders atop their backs, fleeing down a back alley.

And just like that, it was over.

* * *

Everyone was pretty depressed as we walked into the PRT building. It turned out that Clockblocker and Aegis had switched costumes so my attempts to rescue Clockblocker had been entirely pointless as Aegis was able to easily put up with being a doggie chew toy. Since I hadn't stuck with the plan that meant Grue had been able to sneak past me and take out Vista, which meant Grue's darkness prevented Kid Win and Gallant from getting clear shots, which meant the Undersiders had been able get away on the dogs with however much money they had stolen. All in all, the day had been an abject failure.

Waiting for us in the building was Director Piggot and two other stern looking men in suits. "That was a fiasco," she said without preamble.

"Yes, ma'am," Aegis said, his voice coming out a wheeze. "We lost."

"You lost, yes. But that's the least of it. The big problem is that you lost because you brought along New Wave's golden child **and** someone who hasn't even decided on what team she wants to join. **Without my say-so**."

I winced right along with all the Wards.

"You can consider yourselves fortunate that the damage Glory Girl inflicted on the bank was minimal otherwise I'd be docking all of your pay to cover the costs to repair it."

"That being said, Kid Win." Piggot turned to look at the Tinker. "I'm very interested to hear about this weapon you deployed on the battlefield."

"My Alternator Cannon?" Kid Win asked, cringing just a bit.

I remember after Vista had been disabled and I was in Grue's darkness that there had been a couple of loud blasts. Guess that had been Kid Win using his cannon.

"You'll have to forgive me," Piggot smiled, it was not a pleasant smile. "The paperwork gets to be a bit **much** sometimes. Maybe you know where to find the documentation from our military and science teams, for this Alternator Cannon?"

"Christ, Kid," Aegis groaned under his breath, with his ruined voice.

Kid Win looked more upset about Aegis' reaction than anything else, "I, uh. I didn't get it officially cleared, yet. I just thought it would be better to use the cannon and do what I could to stop the robbery."

I wasn't entirely sure what was going on but it sounded like Kid Win had violated protocol by bringing out a weapon that hadn't been approved. I wasn't about to open my mouth and get involved, however.

"That's where you'd be wrong," Piggot told him, "Fact of the matter is, the money that was taken from the bank falls very low on my priority list. You might even go so far as to suggest I don't care about it."

"Director-" Aegis started. He didn't get to finish.

"What I care about is the public perception of capes. I care about ensuring that we get enough funding to keep you Wards, the Protectorate and the PRT squads paid and equipped. Without that, everything I've worked to build falls apart."

"What are you going to do?" Kid Win asked her.

"The cannon gets dismantled, first off."

"No!" Aegis and Kid Win spoke at the same time. Director Piggot looked briefly surprised at the defiance. Frankly, so was I. The Director gave off an air that made me feel very small, I wasn't sure if I'd have the guts to stand up to her like that.

"I started on the Alternator Cannon so I'd have something to bring out in case of a Class A threat," Kid Win said, "Getting rid of it would be such a waste. I don't care if I never get to use it again. Give it to your PRT squad. I'll teach someone how it works. You can mount it on one of your trucks or something."

Director Piggot frowned, "The amount of time and money that would require, for an event that might never occur… no. I suppose you can keep the cannon."

Kid Win practically sagged with relief.

"But whatever the power source is, you're removing it, and I'm keeping it under lock and key. If a Class A threat does come into play, I'll hand it over to you. **And** the cannon still goes through the standard review process for all Tinker created material. If it doesn't pass the review, if you were putting people and property at undue risk with what you pulled today, I'm afraid you could face a substantial fine or jail time."

Kid Win paled.

"Director!" Aegis grunted out the word, taking a step forward.

"Be quiet, Aegis," Piggot snapped, "Your trying to speak with a punctured lung physically pains me, and as much as I admire standing up for your team, your one lungful of breath is wasted here."

 _Damn, there's putting someone in their place and then there's just being unduly harsh._

Kid Win turned to Aegis and offered a small apologetic smile.

"Kid Win, you're coming with us for a disciplinary review. The Wards are dismissed. The tour group is going to be coming by your quarters in an hour, and there's likely to be more than a few reporters peering in the window. Try to clean yourselves up for the pictures that are undoubtedly going to appear in tomorrow's papers. As for the errant tag-along..." Director Piggot rounded on me and I suddenly wanted to be anywhere but here. "What were you doing at the bank in the middle of the day anyway? The paperwork we gave you specified that if you want to join the Wards you need to keep your grades at a certain level and I imagine that's rather difficult to do if **you're playing hooky** , so I suggest you go back to school."

The two men in suits marched a miserable Kid Win out the door after Director Piggot. Kid Win shot a worried look at his team before he was taken out of sight.

"Voorhees, before you go you should actually join us for the debrief. Might have noticed something we missed," Aegis said. "Gallant or Clockblocker is in charge of it though, I need a shower."

"Okay, that makes sense," I said meekly. While I wasn't sure how much I'd have picked up in the fight, I did know that after the chewing out I had just gotten from the Director I didn't want to run into her again today.

I followed the group down a hallway. Vista was in the lead so she submitted to an eye scan to open the door to the Wards common room.

"I'm gonna get cleaned up, you all get started on the debrief," Aegis said a little gruffly as he made his way into what I assumed was a bathroom.

"Alright, Clock do you mind if I take point?" Gallant asked to which the time-stopping superhero shook his head.

"Cool. Vista, could you go grab a whiteboard?" While she skipped off Gallant turned to the rest of us. "I think it's important before we start that I point something out. Today was a not a failure, I'd even go so far as to call it a win for the good guys."

My eyebrows rose so far up they probably disappeared into my hairline at Gallant's statement.

' _A win for the good guys'? Did he get hit in the head or something?_

"The Undersiders. They've flown under the radar so far, but more recently, they've started pulling higher profile jobs. They hit the Ruby Dreams casino five weeks ago, and now they just robbed the biggest bank in Brockton Bay. This time we were lucky enough to get in their way. That means we finally have intel on their group."

I considered what Gallant had said as Vista wheeled the whiteboard into place where everyone could see it from our seats.

Gallant pulled out a marker drew lines down, creating four columns. At the top of each, he wrote Grue, Hellhound, Tattletale, and Regent.

"Now we brainstorm," Gallant said. "This is where we recoup our losses from the day, figure out an angle so we can win next time. So don't hold back. Share any detail, no matter how insignificant."

And so we spent the next ten or so minutes talking about the Undersider's powers. I brought up that Grue's darkness altered sounded and it felt weird to move in, but that I could smell things in it no problem (though Clockblocker pointed out that may have been because my nose looked like it belonged on a bloodhound). At one point Aegis returned from his shower. He had stitched up some of his wounds but even I, with my almost complete lack of medical training, could tell it was a clumsy job. He was shirtless ( _yum_ ) but kept his mask on. In fact, all the Wards still had their masks on. My hoodie had been pretty torn up from the dogs but I guess my face was sufficiently altered due to my snout that they didn't feel the need to say anything.

At some point, an alarm buzzed through the room.

"That just means we got visitors incoming, gives people a chance to mask up," Gallant explained.

The heavy door slid open and in walked three people, all of whom I had met already. Armsmaster, Miss Militia, and Panacea. I noticed Panacea was wearing a visitor's badge with her picture on it.

 _I wasn't given a visitor's badge, hope I'm not breaking any rules being here_ , I thought to myself.

"She was kind enough to volunteer to come and patch you guys up," Miss Militia said.

"I wanted to thank you guys for coming to my rescue, as well as letting my sister come along."

"How are you two doing?" Gallant asked compassionately.

"...it's complicated. Tattletale threatened to blackmail us if she didn't lock herself in the vault and Vi-we don't even know what it was Tattletale knew but she dropped enough hints that we knew she wasn't bluffing."

I could smell Panacea's nervousness. She smelled of guilt too. _Wait...guilt has a smell? Just how complex is my nose?_

"Aegis, you look pretty torn up," Panacea said but he waved her off.

"I'm a Brute, you can do me last."

"Oh, alright. Um...Voorhees, why do you…" Panacea trailed off as she made a nervous twirling motion with her hands.

"Couldn't see or hear much of anything in Grue's darkness," I said while Armsmaster walked forward to examine me as well. "So my power decided to give me a really good sense of smell. It's pretty handy if a little distracting. My arm got floofy so the dog couldn't bite through it and my skin turned leathery after a skidded on some pavement. I can wait though, go ahead and help people that are actually injured."

"No, I think I better take a look at you right now," Panacea said. Her face had gotten more and more serious as I had described my changes.

I shrugged. "If you insist."

Panacea took my hand and she got this far off look on her face as she used her power to examine me.

I stared at my bulging arm, waiting for it to start shrinking. And I waited...and waited...and waited.

"Um, Panacea, you have my permission to heal me, if that's what you were waiting for."

Panacea didn't respond. Instead, her expression shifted to something akin to rugged determination and just stared at me.

"Panacea, is everything okay?" Miss Militia asked.

Everyone started looking at each other nervously and slowing began moving towards us.

"AH HA! Got it!" Panacea suddenly exclaimed, causing everyone in the room to jump. She looked around the room as if suddenly realizing there were other people in here with us. "Uh, sorry. Voorhees' powers are a little wonky to get around."

Panacea turned bright red as several people chuckled. "Right, healing you now."

Sure enough, my arm and nose shrank and my skin returned to normal. I noticed the Wards had all turned away at that and was temporarily confused until Miss Militia handed me a plain domino mask.

"Thanks," I said, both the Miss Militia and to Panacea. "Hopefully, we can figure out how my power works so I'm not constantly getting you to fix me."

"About that…" Panacea glanced around the room and then leaned towards me and whispered. "We need to talk before you leave."

"Uh, yea sure. Okay."

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Parts of this chapter were lifted right out of Worm so if something seems familiar in the Piggot scene, that's why.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

I stared blankly out at the city.

 _Your DNA has altered since the last time I looked at you._

 _It...what? What does that mean?_

 _It's pretty well known that my powers don't work on brains, right? Slightly less well known is that my powers don't work on myself._

 _Okay…_

 _So I don't know for sure because I've never seen my own DNA but it looks like your power is changing you to make you...well...to make you more like me, so that I can't alter you._

How does one react to that? To finding out that their power is actively working against them?

 _But that doesn't make any sense! My power protects me from threats, you're not a threat! You're just helping me._

 _I guess your power doesn't like that I'm undoing all the "beneficial" changes it's made so it's adapting to me. I found a work-around this time, 98% of DNA is junk data anyway and it's not like you've become a carbon copy of me, but I honestly don't know how many more times I can return you to normal. Not with the unchangeable DNA strands that I'm starting to see. Might only be once or it could be five more. All depends on what your power does._

I had gone home and cried myself to sleep. Woke up around midnight and went down to the kitchen to eat and found a note from my dad.

Saw what happened on the news, glad you're okay. You looked exhausted so I let you sleep. Lasagna is in the fridge if you get hungry. Love, Dad.

That note had sent me into another crying fit. It had only been a few days ago that I had talked with Dad on the way to the PRT building about how I was doing better, how things were looking up. He had said I seemed happy, he seemed happy.

I spent the rest of the night reading one of Mom's old novels. I had needed to take my mind off of everything and getting lost in a book was a good time sink. Eventually, Dad woke up to get ready for work. Breakfast was awkward. He could tell something was bothering me but didn't press it when I deflected his questions.

I didn't even bother going to school. With the mood I was in there was no way I would able to put up with everyone there. Ended up riding a bus to one of the less respectable parts of town. Despite growing up in a city that most of the country referred to as 'the armpit of New England' even I had been surprised at how normal a lot of the people seemed. A twenty-something couple selling paintings on the side of the road, a mom pushing a stroller, an old man waiting for the bus, it was weird to see everyone out and about in what was clearly ABB territory.

Eventually, I found myself sitting atop an apartment building next to some storage rental facility. I had shimmied up the fire escape.

The apartment building was the tallest building around so it gave me a nice view of the area, including the street below me.

 _I bet if I jumped from here the fall wouldn't even kill me, my power would probably kick into effect and turn me into rubber or something._

I suddenly realized where my thoughts were going.  
 _  
No, I'm not suicidal. I'm just...contemplating my power. Yeah, that's it. Contemplating my amazing, stupid, life-saving, life-ruining, helpful, unhelpful power._

I snorted and stopped looking at the street directly below me. My gaze drifted over to the storage yard.

 _Sure are a lot of people showing over there. Why are they just hanging around the property line though?_

They all looked vaguely Asian but at this height I could easily be wrong. I was able to tell they weren't all ABB though. Not enough red and green showing, too many different ages, not enough posturing in people's body language. So that raised the question of why they were gathered here.

That question was somewhat answered when I saw an explosion somewhere in the storage yard.

 _That was big, I should go help!_

As I was standing up my brain caught up with my thoughts.

 _Panacea might not be able to revert whatever changes occur if I go down there. I don't even know what's happening so I have no idea how I could end up looking._

There was a loud blast as another explosion lit up the area.

The situation was reminiscent of the bank. Much like how I wouldn't be able to live with myself if one of the Wards was seriously injured when I could have done something, I couldn't sit up here and worry about my appearance when someone might be on the verge of dying.  
 _  
Might as well go for broke_ , I thought as I stepped forward off the roof.

I landed feet first.

While I had a strong healing power I wasn't stupid enough to lock my legs up, I went limp as I hit the ground. Didn't want to send my shin bones through my shoulder blades, after all.

It was still an incredibly painful landing. Definitely broke both my legs, probably my hips as well.

I could make out a group of Asian people on the other side of the street pointing at me and arguing.

 _Hey, I was right, they are Asian...it says something about my situation that I'm able to so easily ignore the pain of multiple broken bones to focus on the fact that I can correctly identify people's race._

I could feel my bones starting to knit back together. I was able to watch my legs straighten out right before my eyes. It wasn't as surreal as it should have been. _The fact that it isn't surreal is, in and of itself, kinda surreal._

Once it seemed like my body was done repairing itself I stood up.

 _Should I be concerned that I don't have a mask? Hmm, don't know how much longer I'll have a face that's still recognizable as me so I guess it would be rather pointless._

One of the Asians ahead of me was actually shoved forward by the rest of the group. It was a middle aged man in a faded business suit. He was clearly nervous and spoke broken English.

"You should leave, not safe here."

I shook my head. "I need to investigate those explosions."

"You cape, it not matter. You should leave, not safe here."

"I need to make sure no one's hurt."

"Bakuda says no one allowed in. We have to stop you. Please leave."

"Bakuda?" _That name's familiar…_ "The bomber Tinker?!"

"Please…leave." I could hear the pleading in the man's voice. I didn't know the situation but he didn't seem to be here by choice.

I could only shake my head. "I can't do that," I said quietly.

Before either of us had the chance to stop the other from doing something there was an...occurrence where the man's group was standing. There was a weird sound and the area lost all of its color. Everything faded to shades or white, grey, and black. All the people stopped moving.

 _I've seen TV specials about this. That looks like Grey Boy's power...but he's dead!_

From around the area of locked time stumbled three very familiar capes.

"Grue, you don't say this enough. My power is a godsend, that could have been us," Regent said, supported by his teammate.

"Just keep moving," Tattletale said from behind the pair. "She'll be looping around the other side of the…" Tattletale trailed off as she saw me.

I honestly didn't know what to say. One of the one hand, three villains stood in front of me who I had fought only yesterday. On the other hand, they were fleeing from a Tinker that was pretty clearly trying to kill them. As much as they deserved to be arrested, they didn't deserve to die which is probably what would happen if I slowed them down right now.

I jerked my head in a 'get moving' motion. Tattletale nodded.

"That cape wants to fight Bakuda for us, that's our cue to run," she said.

Grue actually stopped in his tracks to look at me before glancing at his teammates. Apparently deciding that he needed to get them out of here, he nodded solemnly at me and then hefted Regent a bit and resumed his hurried walk. Regent gave me a thumbs up.

Just like Tattletale had predicted, from around the other side of the time bubble emerged a cape. She had straight black hair and some sort of gas mask. Her costume was militaristic yet feminine, it kinda reminded me of a more armored version of Miss Militia's outfit.

"Where'd those idiots run to?" she shouted.

The Asian man standing next to me pointed at the time bubble and babbled in whatever his language was.

Bakuda glanced over before turning her gaze back on the two of us. "It was the Undersiders fault I missed. Now, I say again, where'd they go?"

The man next to me said something in response. He was clearly nervous but he also sounded...determined? Whatever he said, Bakuda didn't like it because she hefted the gun she was holding, it looked like a cross between a grenade launcher and a revolver pistol, and pointed it at us.

She looked about ready to shoot us when she lowered the gun and smacked herself across the forehead. "Almost wasted perfectly good bomb on him."

And then, without so much as a twitch or hand gesture from Bakuda, the man next to me suddenly liquefied. One second he was fine, the next he was melting into a pile of goop. I tried and failed to not throw up as Bakuda laughed.

"Dumbass made his choice to die, what about you, gaijin? You tell me where they went and you get to live," Bakuda said as she hefted her gun back up and pointed it at me.

Once I stopped heaving I squared my shoulders shook my head. I didn't bother saying anything. It's hard to sound defiant so soon after puking.

Bakuda shrugged. "Your funeral, will be fun finding out how you get to die." She pulled the trigger and the shot arced forward towards me.

 _Power, I know I've been pissed at you since yesterday but please don't fail me now_ , I thought just before the bomb exploded.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Armsmaster carefully walked forward.

The PRT had gotten several emergency phone calls from people living in the area saying that there were multiple explosions happening and a potential gang fight occurring. Colin had been on patrol nearby and had heard the noises as well. He had been enroute to investigate when Console had informed him on what was being reported. When Colin had arrived on site a few minutes later he discovered that the callers had not be exaggerating for hysterical effect. He had found evidence of incendiary explosions, flash freezes, spatial distortions, and even several areas of stopped time. Considering the proximity to known ABB hangouts and the fact that the Asian gang had recently recruited a Tinker, Armsmaster had a pretty good idea who was responsible for this though he wondered who they were fighting.

Colin had already radioed the PRT to tell them to dispatch a squad or two of troopers. This whole area would have to be cordoned off until he could do a complete sweep. The last thing they needed was some unexploded ordnance going off because a civilian decided to poke it with a stick.

Still, the detailed sweep would have to wait. Right now Armsmaster was just checking to see if any gang members were still in the area and had to be detained or if anyone needed medical attention. Standard first responder stuff. The worst part was seeing the remains of people caught in the various blasts. Colin didn't want to think of what their last moments had been like.

The auditory sensors in his helmet informed Colin of small noise coming from one of the containers several doors down and began streaming relevant data to his visor display.

 _Sounds like sobbing, pitch and frequency indicate it's likely a female teenager_ , Colin thought as he read the information. _Probably a victim of the attack but it could be a trap._

Colin tightened his grip on his halberd as he inched his way towards the sound. He could tell the source of the noise was coming from a open storage room where the roll-up door had already been raised.

Once he got close enough Colin readied his weapon and then leapt in front of the open door and had to immediately bite back a curse. Colin had been to Endbringer fights, he had come across Merchants so strung out on drugs that they had neglected hygiene to the point of being walking biohazards, he had seen pictures of some of the Slaughterhouse Nine's victims, but the person before him had clearly been caught in the blast from a spatial distortion.

 _How is she still alive?_ Colin wondered.

The person before him was laying limply up against the wall, limbs splayed out, her chin resting on her chest as she cried to herself.

She looked at though she had fallen into a taffy pulling machine. Her legs were so elongated that Colin wasn't sure the muscles were strong enough to support her own weight. She would probably be over ten feet tall if she was able to stand up. But it wasn't just that the girl had been...expanded lengthwise, for lack of a better term. Her right arm been split down the middle all the way to her elbow as if the space between the bones had been stretched to the point where the tissue could no longer hold together, though it appeared to be healing. Her torso was pinched in the middle, as if she had been wearing a corset that was tied far too tightly, along with the corresponding skinny locations on her arms suggesting that that area had been shrunk horizontally. Colin could even make out a pulsating blob underneath the skin on her neck-

 _Wait, that looks like it's beating. Is that her heart?_

Colin cleared his throat to get the girl's attention. He didn't want to startle her, not with the condition she was in.

She managed to stop crying long enough to lift her head so that if fell back against the wall she was propped up against. One of her eyes took up a full third of her face and her mouth looked like it had been moved somewhat off center.

The girl let out a sound that almost sounded like a laugh. "Armsmaster, why is it you're always the one to show up after I fight the ABB?"

Even if Colin's software hadn't already identified the voice and displayed the girl's name across his HUD he would have recognized her given how often he seemed to be running into her lately.

"Ms. Hebert," Colin said, neutrally. "Is it safe here? Anyone still around?"

"Just us," she said while looking up at the ceiling. "Bakuda wanted to stick around and see how long it took me to die, for science, but said it was more important that she catch up to the Undersiders. Took the ABB goons with her."

Armsmater relaxed his guarded stance and took a step forward to kneel down. "Alright, in that case is there anything I can do for you? You don't look like you should be moved."

"Call Panacea, I suppose, and hope she can fix me."

Colin was a bit surprised at her tone of voice. She didn't sound like she was pleading and wanting immediate medical attention, she didn't sound hysterical either, she sounded almost resigned. Like she didn't expect it to work.

 _Maybe she doesn't expect to live long enough for Panacea to arrive?_

"I'll call New Wave immediately and tell them you need Panacea, but I need to sweep the area to ensure it's safe. Shout if you need anything and I'll come right back."

* * *

By the time Colin had returned to Taylor's location her power had begun kicking into effect and she was seemingly more active. It did make Colin wonder how closely he had missed the fight with Bakuda if her power still hadn't healed her all the way. He recalled that it had been pretty fast acting in the fight with Lung.

Her legs, while still long, had bulked up to support their increased size. Her right arm was technically healed in that the wound had closed, though the split hadn't fused back together. Her head was growing, seemingly to match the disproportionate eyeball, and her neck was thickening to hold the extra weight.

Taylor also wasn't as emotional as she had been when Colin first found her. He assumed it was because she wasn't in as much pain now. Colin knelt down in front of Taylor, unsure of what to do for her so he decided to use the time constructively.

"I got in contact with Brandish, Glory Girl is bringing Panacea. She should be here shortly. Can you give me a summary of what happened?"

Taylor sighed and stared blankly at a spot on the wall straight ahead. Just as the silence was stretching on long enough that Colin was about to speak up she finally answered.

"I was skipping school. Didn't want to deal with the bullying. Not after Panacea's bombshell." Taylor turned to look Colin square in the face. "You know how we thought my power was some kind of adaptation to threats? Turns out it has started adapting to Panacea's power. She isn't sure how many more times she'll be able to turn me back to normal. And considering how every single time I get in a fight I...well…"

She gestured at herself with her three hands.

"I mean look at me!"

"So you were skipping school…" Colin said, trying to steer the conversation back on track. While he felt terrible for her, he was not about to try comforting a teenage girl whose body was mutating every time she got hurt. Especially one he had seen naked several days prior, that seemed like a scenario hand picked by God specifically to get Colin to put his foot in his mouth.

"I was on top of the apartment building across the street when the explosions started. I went down to investigate and found the Undersiders fleeing from Bakuda." Taylor shifted how she was sitting as her torso expanded slightly. "They may be criminals but they were wounded so I stayed to keep Bakuda busy so they could run."

"That was...noble of you." Colin decided against saying what he was really thinking, which was that it had been stupid, dangerous, and wasteful.

"So she shot me with a bomb that made everything go all wibbly wobbly. Bakuda was pretty surprised I survived."

"Your power kept you alive long enough to be an oddity to slow her down," Colin said.

Taylor chuckled. "Yeah, she might have caught up to the Undersiders if it wasn't for me...she didn't catch up with them, did she?"

"I didn't find their bodies or any additional signs of fighting beyond this area so it appears they got away."

"That's good," Taylor said, closing her eyes. "That's good."

Colin was going to speak up but decided against it after noticing Taylor's breathing had changed, indicating she had fallen asleep. The poor girl was exhausted. He decided to let her rest until Panacea arrived.

* * *

"So?" Taylor asked. "Can you fix me?"

Panacea, sitting on the ground next to Taylor, holding her hand, didn't immediately answer.

Colin was standing off to the side, next to Glory Girl, who was trying (and failing) not to stare too much. Colin didn't blame her. If this had been his first time meeting her he would have assumed Taylor was a Case 53.

 _At least she's stopped changing._

"I...maybe," Panacea finally said.

"Maybe?" Colin, Glory Girl, and Taylor all asked at the same time.

Panacea gave a frustrated glance back at Colin and Glory Girl before turning back to Taylor. "There are unchangeable parts of your DNA. At the moment they aren't in the majority but they are more numerous than last time so I can't do the same swapping trick as last time. I could theoretically get your body to just ignore the unchangeable parts by making the other parts of your DNA...shout louder, I guess would be a good analogy. The problem is this: a good chunk of everyone's DNA is just junk data. Leftover information from our ancestors and whatnot. Some of that stuff is junk for a reason, like ancient diseases and non-human DNA. Now, on a normal person I could make that stuff harmless but if I make that DNA out yell the DNA you're currently using your power could react pretty badly before I have the chance to do that. Then again, it might not do anything at all. You got a stronger sense of smell at the bank because of Grue's darkness. That seems like a flimsy pretext of a threat but it's taken this long to adapt to me? Your power seems to be a little finicky in what it reacts to."

"So….?" Taylor asked in a hopeful manner.

"Um, right sorry. Got a little rambly there." Panacea paused to compose herself. "Okay, so there is a thing I can try that might work...or it might make things even worse. Won't know which it is until I make the attempt."

Taylor's smile with tinged with sadness. "I have two right hands and am taller than Lung was when I fought him. Hard to think of how this could get worse. Go right ahead and try your thing, I trust you."

Colin wasn't sure he agreed with Taylor's statement. He could think of plenty of ways this could get worse but before he could voice that opinion Amy had already announced she was starting.

 _With as unsure as Panacea is about the results, we should really have done this in a controlled environment_ , Colin thought to himself.

But none of the girls here were technically under his command and if they wanted to do it here he couldn't really stop them.

So Colin stood there and watched as Panacea attempted to use her powers to alter Taylor's DNA and make the girl look normal again.

 _Wait a second...how is she able to change the girl's DNA? That's not healing. Now that I think about it, what specifically did she do on the previous occasions?_

Colin's thoughts were put on hold Taylor's body began visibly changing. Her legs started shrinking and her head began reshaping itself.

 _Good, looks like it's working._

But then something went wrong. Taylor stiffened up and a look of distress came across her face. Her arms began thickening rapidly while tiny polyps began appearing across the skin.

"Shit, no! I got this, I got this!" Panacea said frantically.

Taylor's legs and head stopping shrinking while the growth of her arms started to slow. But as her arms finally stopped growing her legs began altering, it was particularly noticeable in the joints which seemed to be changing their orientation.

"Ames-" Glory Girl began to say.

"Don't distract me!"

Glory Girl looked at Armsmaster with a distressed expression on her face. Colin could only frown and shrug his shoulders. He didn't want to interrupt Panacea in the middle of her power usage but if things kept going downhill he might have to, for everyone's sake.

Taylor's legs stopped changing, presumably as that was where Panacea was focusing on, only for the Brute to open her mouth and a foot-long tongue unrolled itself and lazily waved itself in front of the healer.

"I know, I know, getting to that!"

Colin watched as the tongue started to shrivel up only to notice that polyps had begun growing again, at an even faster and more numerous rate.

 _This is not going well._

Colin tried to interject, "Panacea-"

"I can do this!" she shrieked.

It was then Taylor's skin began growing what appeared to be armored plates around the polyps and Colin decided he had to intervene.

Striding forward, he grabbed Panacea by the shoulder and yanked her back, breaking her contact with Taylor.

"Glory Girl, please subdue Panacea before she does anymore harm," Armsmaster said as he examined her patient. He could hear the two sisters arguing but he tuned it out. Taylor was continuing to mutate right before his eyes...as well as right before her eyes. The polyps had finished growing and had turned out to be eyestalks.

 _How on Earth was the information for eyestalks hidden in her DNA? Or did they form because of her power? What could they be a response to?_

"Ms. Hebert?" _What do I even say to her now?_ "How do you feel?"

She let out a mirthless chuckle. With her now expanded torso it sounded more like thunder rumbling than a laugh.

"I can feel the bones in my hips rearranging. I can feel the air on my suddenly new eyeballs. I can feel my skin thickening up. I feel-"

"I-I get the picture. It was a stupid question, my apologies."

" **Your** apologies?" Taylor growled out. "What do **you** have to apologize for. It's not like I'm a freak of nature because of **you**."

"HEY!" Glory Girl shouted angrily. "Don't be mad at my sister. She was just trying to help and she warned you this might happen. You agreed to it."

 _This is bad, things are escalating too quickly_. Colin could feel the effects of Glory Girl's aura ratcheting up and he did not want it affecting the already emotional Taylor. "Please refrain from making the situation worse while I am talking to Ms. Hebert."

Glory Girl huffed but didn't say anything else so Colin turned his attention back to Taylor.

"I realize you're upset but I need you to calm down. I don't want to have to restrain anybody."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Taylor bellowed as she stood up. "Look at me! I'm a monster!"

"Ms. Hebert…" Colin subtly primed the containment foam sprayer in his halberd. He really didn't want this to turn into a fight. While he was confident he could subdue Taylor without either person getting seriously hurt, he was less confident of the outcome if Glory Girl decided to involve herself.

"It's easy for you to be calm! You've got a great power. Meanwhile, I'm stuck with one that can outwit a healer that supposed to be world famous!"

"I said leave my sister out of this, it's not her fault!"

Colin only had time to think, _Damn it Glory Girl_ , as he felt her aura flare up again. He could see from the expression on her face that Taylor felt it too.

"And stop doing that to me!" Taylor shrieked as she lunged forward.

Colin brought his halberd up and unleashed the spray of foam. It began expanding almost immediately until Taylor was completely covered and stuck to the ground.

"I'm sorry I had to do that Ms. Hebert," Colin said before turning around to look at the Dallon sisters. "And Glory Girl, I believe I told to stop making the situation worse and instead you went and provoked her, both with your words and your aura. You can be sure I'll be talking with the Director about this."

"Hey, we don't work for you. We didn't have to come out here!"

"You're right, you didn't. But you did, that means you need to follow my commands-"

"Bullshit! I'm not gonna stand around while someone we helped at your request badmouths my sister!"

"If you can't control yourself around emotional victims of a Tinker attack than I'll be recommending to your mother that you not go out at all until Bakuda is arrested."

"You wouldn't!"

Colin was vaguely aware, in the back of his head, that arguing with a teenager was not an effective use of his time. _But damn if it doesn't feel cathartic_. Especially since Glory Girl still hadn't gotten control of her aura.

"Um, guys?" Panacea said timidly.

"What!?" Colin and Glory Girl both shouted simultaneously before realizing what they had just done and cringed.

"I admit I'm not as familiar with crime fighting and stuff as you two, but is that supposed to be happening?" Panacea asked as she pointed behind them.

Colin turned and saw a sight that he had seen many times before, but normally under drastically different circumstances. The containment foam, which was designed to hold all but the highest rated Brutes and Breakers, was melting as if the reagent had been applied.

"No, her power must be breaking her out," Colin answered.

"So what? I can still kick her butt."

"Victoria…"

"Glory Girl!"

But before either Panacea or Colin could say any more the containment foam had dissolved enough for Taylor to come bursting out, a snarl on her now unrecognizable face. Her jaw had altered so that it looked oversized for her head, like it wouldn't close properly, and it was now overflowing with green saliva that sizzled as droplets hit the ground.

"Just try and kick my ass, Barbie Girl!"

"Everyone stand down!" Colin shouted.

But it was too late. Emotions were running high for everyone and Taylor was too obvious a 'threat' to pass up. Glory Girl launched herself into the air and collided with Taylor in a football-like tackle, carrying them both through the wall behind them.

"Panacea, **stay here**!" Colin ordered as he ran forward.

When he caught up the two heroines Glory Girl had Taylor pinned to the ground and was repeatedly punching her in the face.

"Just. Stay down. And. I'll stop. Hitting you," Glory Girl said between punches.

"GLORY GIRL! Stop this instant!" Colin shouted with as much force as he could muster.

Glory Girl glanced up from her foe to look at Armsmaster, which he realized was a mistake as Taylor used it as an opportunity to wrap her massive left hand around Glory Girl's neck and roll the two of them over.

"Damn it. VOORHEES! Stop this instant!" Colin shouted.

Luckily, Taylor didn't start punching Glory Girl. She seemed content to keep her pinned so Colin allowed himself to relax, slightly.

"Alright, let's all calm down and step back. Voorhees, please release Glory Girl."

"Why? So the bitch can attack me again?"

"Who you calling a bitch, bitch?" Glory Girl said as she struggled.

"You're both angry, you both want to vent. I get it. However, you've both hit the other one so why don't we call it even and break it off?"

The two girls looked at each other, neither seemed willing to be the first to say anything.

The decision was taken away from them, however, when the saliva that had been overflowing from Taylor's mouth and dripping down onto Glory Girl started doing something. It had actually been dripping since Taylor had flipped the pair over but for some reason it was only at this moment that the acid started to affect her.

Glory Girl's voice started out annoyed but it quickly gained intensity and volume until she was screaming. "Hey, ow ow ow oW OW **OW**!"

Glory Girl thrashed around and grabbed at her chest while Taylor released her hold and backed off.

"Vicky!"

 _These people!_ Colin moaned to himself as Panacea ran forward. _I realize Glory Girl is injured but I told Panacea to stay put. This is like herding cats and-damn it!_

Voorhees had turned tail and run. Colin was now unsure whether he should pursue her or stay with the Dallon sisters.

 _I don't want her to think I'm trying to chase her down but in her current emotional state she really shouldn't be alone. If I take off after her Glory Girl might follow once she's healed and decide to restart the fight..._

After weighing his options, Colin made his decision. _I'll remain here until one of the adults from New Wave shows up. I know where Voorhees lives, she'll turn up there eventually and we can talk this whole thing out._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 _Oh God, oh God, oh God, I can't believe I did that._

I was running- _except I'm using my arms to help propel myself along, is running really the right word for this situation? It's more like I'm fleeing...my brain picks the weirdest things to focus on sometimes._

I was fleeing from the scene of the crime. After getting into a fistfight with Glory Girl I had drooled on her ( _not like I can control that either, stupid oversized jaw_ ) and it turns out my drool does more than just dissolve containment foam, it's also highly acidic to human flesh. So I probably had some kind of serious assault charge pending on me now.  
 _  
Why did I have to lose my temper? It wasn't Panacea's fault, she warned me this could happen._

Looking up and down the road and seeing no one, I quickly exited my current alley and made my way into an alley on the other side of the street.

 _Between my backward legs and these oversized arms I'm kind of surprised at how fast I can move_ , I thought as I examined myself which was a lot easier to do since I now had a multitude of eyes covering my body.

It was very strange being able to stare into my own eyes.

 _Do I even know where I'm going?_

It was pretty clear I wasn't going home. No way would that end well. Dad and I were finally starting to get along better and this would probably undo all that work. I could just imagine how that conversation would go.

 _Hey Dad, you know how I've been wanting to be a hero? You know how I was thinking of joining New Wave or the Wards? Well not anymore, now I'm a villain. I tried to attack Panacea and then injured Glory Girl right in front of Armsmaster! That sucks but now I look like the bastard offspring of a gorilla and Cthulhu and can charge the people with Case 53 fetishes for pictures, so I got that going for me, which is nice._

I couldn't just wander the streets for the rest of my life. I'd need a destination at some point.

 _Plus, I'll need a way to get food and find a place to sleep._

Although now that I thought about it…

 _When was the last time I was hungry?_

Sure, I had eaten plenty of times since I got my powers. After the locker when I ate breakfast with Dad I would often stuff food in my mouth because it had been easier than talking to him about school but I hadn't actually been hungry...had my power made it so that I didn't need to eat? Had I just been eating out of habit and not because I was actually hungry?

 _Man_ , I thought to myself as I reached a dead end in the alley and turned around. _Panacea wasn't kidding when she said my power could be finicky about threats. Sure, it's possible to die from lack of food but I never even got close to malnourished, let alone starving. Why would my power decide to adapt to that?_

Deciding that it was pointless trying to figure that particular puzzle out, I reoriented myself at the T intersection in the alley and headed off in the untraveled direction.

I exited the alley to find myself in the back lot of some kind of factory, looked like metal-working or something.

 _Judging from the trash levels and the condition of the pavement, I'd say this place has been abandoned for a while. Wonder if there's an office or something I can crash in?_

I approached one of the large bay doors and, after a light tug proved it was locked in place, shoved my fingers underneath it and heaved. My strength proved to be greater than whatever was keeping the door shut as after a brief sound of tearing metal, the door slid up on its rollers. I climbed into the building and shut the door behind me, using two of my hands to keep the door in its track while the third hand pulled it down.

 _It's kinda handy having three hands...hehe, handy...ugh that was bad._

I made my way out of the shipping/receiving area and found myself in the factory proper. There were cobwebs and dust everywhere. This place hadn't seen human activity in years.

I half expected to find some squatters holed up in here.

Tarps and sheets covered a lot of the equipment that I walked past.

 _Make a big pile out of that stuff and I could have an adequate bed. Not a_ _ **good**_ _bed, but it would be better than sleeping on the hard floor._

I eventually located a corner of the building that, while not necessarily cleaner, was at least not as dusty compared to the everyplace else. I then looped around the factory floor and collected all the comfortable looking sheets.

 _I'll figure out how to tell Dad about all this in tomorrow_ , I thought as I nestled into the pile.

* * *

I ended up waking up in the middle of the night, which made sense considering I had gone to sleep when school was still in session. What didn't make sense was the noises I could hear echoing down from the far side of the building, it sounded like voices.

 _Crap, what do I do? Is it the cops? The PRT? Are they here for me?_

The voices got louder and while I couldn't make out the words I was able to tell they were taking on a much more aggressive tone.

 _This building has been abandoned for years, could be criminals breaking in,_ I thought to myself while deliberately ignoring the fact that I was a criminal who had broken in. _I should go investigate._

As quietly as I could manage, I hauled myself up and crept across the factory floor. As I got closer to what had probably been administration offices I was able to make out the voices, which were still arguing.

"Look, I get that you're pissed we left your stash but the chinks were blowing shit up! If we didn't leave right then we could have ended up like Mush!"

"Easy for you to say! You still have yours, which you refuse to share!"

"I never took it out of your ride last night, that's why I still have it!"

"So gimme some!"

"Fuck off, it's mine!"

 _Merchants_ , I thought with revulsion.

They weren't here for me. Sounded like they were just looking for a place to hide, though why the ABB had been attacking them was a bit of a mystery. Lung was in custody and Bakuda had been chasing the Undersiders before I stopped her. _Why shift focus to the Merchants of all people? Sure, no one likes them but they do have several capes._

I shook my head. _Doesn't really matter, but judging from how things are going they are going to be way too noisy to remain as roommates. I'll scare them off and then try to go back to sleep._

I reared back one massive hand and slammed it forward, hitting the door that lead into the offices and tearing it clear off its hinges.

"What the shitfuck?!"

I entered the room and realized two things. One: the two people before me looked exactly like you'd expect members of the Merchants to look, strung out and trashy. Two: they were capes.

 _I may have made a mistake._

There was a skinny black man with rotted teeth and behind him was white chick wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit that was far too open in the front. I remembered reading about them on PHO but their names and powers were not coming to me.

"Piss off ugly," the man said as he waved his hands and then swept them down towards the floor. The carpet beneath me took on a blue color and I suddenly felt myself moving backwards as if I was falling down a cliff. I actually tumbled head over ass backwards and ended up sprawled on the floor.

 _That was stupid Taylor_ , I thought as I scrambled to my feet. _Some capes have weird powers, can't freeze up in surprise when that happens._

As I stepped forward onto the blue part of the floor I again felt like I was pushing against gravity. Annoying, but I could deal with it.

"I said fuck off!" the man shouted. "Squeals, we need some firepower to deal with this hymen-gobbler."

The blue on the floor became even more vibrant and the pushback became much more intense. I slammed my hands down and dug my fingers into the floor and began using my massive arms to pull myself forward.

 _It's like I'm in a wind tunnel or something._

"This is my place, you aren't welcome here. Leave!" I yelled.

"Stuff broken glass up your hoochie and go fuck your boyfriend!" the man shouted in response.

Didn't matter that I could adapt to and heal from anything that hurt me, I still winced at the mental image that had just been forced into my head by the man's words.

As I pulled myself into the room I saw that the woman, Squeals, had disappeared, presumably to get some firepower. _So I need to take him out fast, before she shows back up._

Using the massive muscles in my arms, I flung myself forward through the air, past the boundary on the floor that the man had used his power on.

In response his hands lit up as he grabbed the cape he had draped across his shoulders and spun it in front of him like a matador. I collided with the cape and my momentum just stopped and I fell to the ground with a thud. Before I could reach forward to grab at the man I saw the floor suddenly glow and I shot backwards and slammed into the wall.

 _I'm being manhandled by a Merchant. I'm pretty sure this is the cape equivalent to losing a fight to a kindergartner._

Bracing myself against the wall, I managed to stand up just in time to see Skidmark ( _hey, I finally remembered his name_ ) grinning at me while standing next to a window. Outside the window was what appeared the be the turret of tank, pointing inwards.

I managed to bring my left arm up to shield my face just as the weapon fired. I don't know what kind of gun it was but I got to watch my hand blow apart like a watermelon in a Gallagher act. Oddly enough, seeing that didn't bother me as much as it would have a week ago.  
 _  
It'll grow back, nothing to be too worried about._

Still, while I wasn't concerned about my hand I was pinned here by Skidmark's weird power and that made me an easy target. Speaking of the cape, he was crouched next to the window with his hands over his ears and was cursing up a storm.

I leaned forward and with my two right hands grabbed at the floor, hoping to pull myself forward when the turret outside fired again.

 _Shit, I was hoping it didn't have any more ammo_ , I thought as I felt the impact on my right shoulder blade and then pain as the joint practically disintegrated. Since I was supporting myself with that arm this caused me to collapse to the floor. _Some kind of grenade launcher, I think._

"You hit her twice and the bitch still ain't dead, shoot her again!"

I looked up just in time to see the flash from the muzzle of the gun and then everything went dark.

* * *

"Tattletale, when I said I'd escort you back to the loft I meant **just** the loft. We don't have time to be investigating 'something suspicious' in a nearby building when the ABB still wants our heads."

"Would you relax? If my power says 'something suspicious' that means it's worth checking out."

I began blinking my various eyes as the voices woke me up.

 _Last thing I remember was getting in a fight with Skidmark and Squeals._

I tried to stand up but it didn't feel right.

 _What the hell?_ I tried standing again but my legs didn't want to hold me up.

 _Well, she was shooting me with a grenade launcher, probably blew parts of me all over the place. My body must have changed again._

I mentally sighed before focusing all my eyes on myself. _Alright, let's assess the damage._

The Merchants must have kept shooting me after I passed out because my skin was armored basically everywhere. I also felt heavier, not just because of the armor, but internally as well. I doubted I could move as fast as before but I was pretty sure Skidmark wouldn't be able to send me flying if I ran into him again. At least, I hoped that was why I felt so dense.

The change that stood out the most to me was why I couldn't stand up. My legs and arms had shifted around in their sockets as well as changing their length. _I think...I think I'm supposed to walk around on four limbs now._

I was suddenly very glad my right arm had split and had two hands on it. I could walk on one and use the other for fine manipulation.

 _Walking on my hands and feet should feel more awkward than this_ , I thought as I took several steps forward. _Am I really becoming acclimatized to my body randomly mutating?_

My thoughts were put on hold as two people stepped through the giant hole that used to be a wall to the outside.

"Oh..." the guy said, who I recognized as Grue.

I couldn't help it, I laughed. "Of course it's you guys. It's always you guys."

"Voorhees," Tattletale said as she glanced up and down my body. "Glad to see you're alive. We never did get a chance to properly thank you for saving us from Bakuda. The fact that we were able to escape, and then loop around to rescue Bitch...we made it out because of you."

"Glad my turning into a freak wasn't a waste then," I grumbled.

"Listen...you're hanging out in an abandoned warehouse by yourself. Why don't you come with us? We're not staying in our usual hideout at the moment but we got food and a comfortable place to sleep. Keeping you company while you get your head on straight is the least we can do after you saved our lives."

I shook my head. "I don't need food, I'm fine sleeping here. And, no offense, just because I'm in trouble with the Protectorate doesn't mean I want to be seen associating with known villains."

Grue looked like he wanted to speak up but Tattletale shushed him with a wave of her hand. "I'm not saying you have to go out and commit crimes with us or anything like that. I'm saying with the ABB conducting bombing raids all over the city there's safety in numbers. We can watch each other's backs."

I gestured at my eye stalks. "I can watch my own back...and what was that about the ABB? Was that why the Merchant capes tried to hide in here?"

"Yeah," Grue said. "Late last night early this morning the ABB started a bombing spree. They hit a lot of targets, and not just gang related targets either. Civilian targets. It's really bad. Saw on the news that the governor is getting the national guard organized in preparation."

"It started as a smokescreen so that Oni Lee could bust Lung out," Tattletale explained. "Which he succeeded in doing by the way. But they haven't let up yet, not really sure why..."

"Look, Voorhees," Grue interrupted. "It's like Tattletale said, we wouldn't be here if you hadn't stopped Bakuda so the whole team owes you. Heck, we also owe you from before from when you took out Lung. We're not about to force you to do anything you don't want to. But...um...well you said you were in trouble with the law and you look kinda conspicuous so if you needed someone as a gofer or something I'd be more than happy to help out. But if you say no then Tattletale and I will **respect your wishes and leave**."

The last part of Grue speech was clearly directed more at Tattletale than me. Still, I appreciated his offer. It sounded much less smarmy and more sincere than when Tattletale had tried. I was about to refuse him regardless, when a thought entered my head.

 _What about Dad?_

I wasn't very concerned with my own safety. It had been aptly demonstrated that Bakuda's bombs wouldn't kill me. Dad didn't have my powers, he was vulnerable. And since I was undoubtedly wanted for attacking Glory Girl it wasn't like I could just drop by the house to check on him.

 _He's probably worried about me too._

I had planned on figuring out what to tell him after I woke up but Skidmark and Squeals had interrupted that course of action.

 _I don't know what to do!_

I just wanted to scream. Everything had gone wrong and was continuing to go wrong.

"It doesn't have to be a permanent arrangement," Tattletale said softly. "We really do just want to pay you back. One good turn deserves another."

 _They seem nice and they're trying to pay me back…_

"Okay, I'll go with you. Where are we headed and how do you plan on getting me there?"

* * *

Where we were headed turned out to be another abandoned building. They got me there by borrowing (actual borrowing, not 'borrowing' Tattletale assured me) a van with all the back seats removed. It was cramped but I was able to curl up enough that I fit.

Exiting the van and heading into the building was a weird experience, mainly because I was still walking on all fours. It was especially weird once I sat my butt on the floor and realized I was using my arms to support myself exactly like a dog using its front legs.

"I know you don't have any extra furniture but I feel ridiculous," I grumbled to myself as we watched TV.

Regent and Hellhound (or Bitch as she preferred to be called) were asleep in other rooms so it was just Grue, Tattletale, and myself lounging around the office they were using as a common room.

Tattletale looked up from the laptop she had set up on a stack of milk crates. "The couch at our usual place would have held your weight even if, size wise, you wouldn't be able to comfortably fit on it. But yeah, it isn't a safe neighborhood to live in until this all blows over, hence the temporary relocation."

"The lair of a group of supervillains is located in a bad neighborhood? Color me surprised," I deadpanned.

Grue snorted but didn't say anything else.

Tattletale grinned. "It's not **that** bad of an area. I mean, no one that lives there goes to Arcadia or anything but it's not like the Merchants are selling on every street corner either."

Deciding to change the subject I said, "So not to make myself look suspicious by asking this, but why were you so trusting of me to take off your masks?"

Grue shifted in his chair before grabbing the remote and muting the television.

 _How does a building like this even have working cable?_ I couldn't help but wonder.

"That's a good question," Grue admitted. "Honestly, I wasn't comfortable with it but Tattletale was so I went along."

"You trust her judgement that much?"

"I trust her power that much," Grue corrected. "Tattletale's judgement could use some work."

Tattletale stuck her tongue out at him in response.

I looked at the smirking villainess. "What is your power anyway?"

"Nyah ah ah," she said as she waggled her finger at me. "That is privileged information, teammates only."

I shrugged. "It's fine. It's just...you have to admit this is a weird situation. I've seen your faces but don't know your names. I'm staying with you but you're villains. I saved your lives but I tried to capture you at the bank. I thought getting to know each other would help diffuse the awkwardness, I guess."

Before either of them answered I waddled over a corner of the room and spit onto the floor. Tattletale had informed me that my acidic spit was pretty potent and that my body was continually creating enough that it would overflow my mouth unless I made an effort to empty it. It was actually really hard for me to swallow it because of the way my jaw had altered so instead we had designated a spot in the corner that wasn't structurally important for the building that I could corrode.

"Well," Grue said as I settled back down into my spot. "You make a good point. I'm sure we can find some non-important topics to discuss. Umm...prior to all this what classes were you taking in school?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Considering they were sheltering a cape that had attacked Glory Girl in front of the head of the local Protectorate, Brian had found the past week to have been pretty uneventful. Assuming you ignored the terror attacks that the ABB were committing on a daily basis, of course.

Brian wasn't really sure how he felt about Voorhees. While she had saved him and his team on two separate occasions she also had some deep seated emotional issues. The first day or so Brian had been a little concerned she might go on a rampage if they said the wrong thing but once he had talked with her he realized that wasn't the type of issues she was suffering from. Based on how she acted in conversations, Brian suspected (and Lisa later confirmed) that Voorhees' problems were a lack of friends and a severe self-image issue, both of which had been (understandably) exacerbated by her getting powers.

Once Voorhees had gotten over the fact that, yes villains were people too, and that just because her powers were turning her into a monster didn't mean they were going to run screaming in fear from her, she had turned into a pleasant conversationalist. Still shy and tended to back down if Rachel was in the room (which was just weird to watch, this giant Brute being intimidated by someone who Brian could take in a fight) but overall, Voorhees seemed like a perfectly reasonable person. She was quite the reader. Brian had gone out and bought several novels to keep Voorhees occupied since Tattletale wanted to be able to use her laptop instead of fighting off Voorhees who had pirated a bunch of books onto it.

Brian had been splitting his time between hanging out with the team and staying home to keep an eye on his sister. Technically, she was still supposed to be living with their Mom but with the bombing spree going on no one was going to make a fuss about her staying at his apartment. Shockingly, Aisha actually seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and was (mostly) staying home. Brian was waiting for the other shoe to drop with her.

Voorhees was currently staring at a burner phone Brian had got her, evidently trying to work up the nerve to call her dad and tell him she was okay. Brian could sympathize with her, it was a similar situation to himself and Aisha. You don't want to tell your family so much that it puts them in danger, but you don't want to leave them completely in the dark because then their ignorance creates problems. From what Brian had learned, Voorhees' Dad knew she had powers but not necessarily the specifics of how she had got them or what they fully entailed.

Brian glanced over at Voorhees. Despite having a monster face she could still be pretty expressive with her emotions and she was looking rather torn.

"If I'm intruding you can tell me to back off, but what, exactly, is this issue here? What's the difficulty you're having?"

Voorhees looked up from the phone, seemingly desperate for any excuse to avoid making the call. "Besides the fact that I'm a wanted criminal that attacked the poster child of New Wave? Besides that?"

Brian nodded. "Yeah, besides that."

Voorhees glared at him. She had not expected his lackadaisical answer. Brian was willing to admit it seemed like something Alex would do but he felt that getting too emotional would only serve to wind Voorhees up. He needed to remain patient to keep her grounded.

"I just...I thought my life was finally getting better. I got to meet Miss Militia and Armsmaster and Glory Girl and Panacea. Real life superheroes. And they talked to me. Me! I helped them capture Lung, a parahuman that was head of a criminal gang. No more dealing with bullies at school. No more being the weird social outcast. No more being unable to talk to my own father about what was going on in my life. And then I fucked it all up."

The last sentence was said in a tone of such defeat and despair Brian was half tempted to get up and give Voorhees a hug. That probably would have been a mistake though so Brian remained seated.

"The worst part is it was inevitable. I can't look back and go, 'oh my life would have been so much better if it wasn't for that one mistake.' No, with my power I was doomed from the word go. Doesn't matter what Panacea does to me, my power was always going to turn me into a monster. There was never any chance of me getting friends and attending school like a normal person, not when I look like this! So yeah, I'm on the run because I got in a fight with Glory Girl. So what? I doubt most parts of my house could even hold my weight. I hardly have anything to go back to, so what's the point? Maybe I should let the old me die and just be Voorhees from now on."

Brian really didn't know what to say in response to that. Voorhees was in desperate need of a therapist and Brian was woefully under equipped to handle this situation correctly.

Fortunately, Brian was saved from putting his foot in his mouth when Lisa walked in, already in costume. She glanced around and looked at Brian with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged in response.

"Voorhees, got any plans for the evening?" Lisa asked cheerfully.

Voorhees took a couple of calming breaths before answering. "I may not know the specifics of your power but I've figured out enough to know you already know the answer to that question."

Tattle laughed. "Fair enough. There's a meeting of the local villains tonight. Wanna tag along?"

"Meeting of the **villains**?"

"To discuss the ABB situation and whether or not something should be done about them," Tattletale explained. "Sure sure, you aren't a villain but you are an independent who's fought both Lung and Bakuda."

"I didn't win either of those fights."

Brian snorted and decided to interject. "Don't go ruining your reputation by telling the truth. You fought Lung and he ended up in jail. You took one of Bakuda's bomb to the face and walked away. You're a badass that people should fear."

"I dunno…"

"Think of it this way. If you come along you might be able to offer insight that would help us stop the ABB from continuing to bomb places. You could save lives," Tattletale said, sounding serious for the first time in this conversation.

"When you put it that way I'd feel like a dick if I refused," Voorhees grumbled.

Brian recognized her tone of voice. He had often sounded exactly like that after arguing with Lisa. It was the sound of someone knowing they had just been manipulated but unsure as to how.

"Excellent," Tattletale said, suddenly perky again. "REGENT WAKE UP! GOT AN IMPORTANT MEETING TO GET READY FOR."

* * *

Brian entered the bar with his team. If Brian had to use one word to describe the location he would have gone with 'dingy.' The place was cramped, poorly lit, and probably in desperate need of a visit from the health department. Several tables had been pushed together in the center of the room where the meeting would take place. The four supervillains sat down at one of the booths at the far corner and wrote down their orders when the surly waitress approached the table with a pad of paper.

They were the first group to arrive and it wasn't long before more people showed up. Kaiser and several other Empire capes strode in with the level of self-inflated superiority only racists seemed capable of pulling off. Brian fought to keep his body language neutral.

"I thought you said Purity had quit the Empire," Regent whispered to Tattletale.

"She did, rejoined right before the bombing spree started," Tattletale answered back.

"Does that change anything? Do I need to know something?" Brian asked.

His teammate shook her head. "It's more a show of power on Kaiser's part than anything else. Prove he's still got the heavy hitters." Tattletale grinned. "Course, we've got someone who can take anything they dish out."

"Keep that part quiet, remember?" Brian said as he stood up and sat at the main table, across from Kaiser. The leader of the Empire gave him a nod of acknowledgement, which Brian returned.

While the Empire capes places their drink orders two more groups showed up, Faultline and her crew plus Coil. Brian respected Faultline. Despite the rivalry going on between her and Tattletale, the woman was a professional and had gathered a reputation as an impartial, reliable mercenary. Coil was just a mystery. He had a group of well-trained ex-military types working for him yet didn't really seem to have a source of income. Sure, he held some territory and probably had a protection racket going in that area but it shouldn't have been enough to turn a profit on, not with as high as his expenditures had to be.

Brian's musing was cut short as a roar reverberated through the air.

The front door was slammed open as a body was launched inward and rolled several times before sliding to a rest at the tables. Every cape in room immediately tensed, waiting to see what would happen.

 _Did a member of the Protectorate happen to wander by on a patrol? Who was that anyway?_ After a quick glanced at the stunned person Brian felt himself not nearly as worried as before.

"Mother fuckin' turd muncher! We took care of you once, we can do it again!" Skidmark shouted as he finally found his bearings and leapt to his feet.

"It's my understanding that there isn't supposed to be any fighting at these meetups," a deep voice from outside said. "It's not my fault you were too strung out to avoid running me over. You're lucky all I did was tear the door off."

And then the owner of the voice entered through the doorway. Brian had to admit that meeting in a cramped building actually worked in their favor because it made Voorhees seem even bigger than she already was as she entered on all fours.

Her wide mouth was big enough that she could have engulfed anyone from the head down to their waist if she was feeling so inclined. Acidic spit was starting to overflow past her sharp teeth and drip down onto the floor. Her arms were as big around as Brian's torso and in her left hand she held the unconscious form of Squealer. She didn't seem to be taking much care to avoid knocking the Tinker repeatedly against the ground as she walked forward. Voorhees' many eyes surveyed the gathered villains in a nonchalant manner. Seeing Voorhees in this manner was quite different from how she acted back at the base. Brian was reminded of a bear. Voorhees was just a solid mass of muscle that wanted to be left alone but would not hesitate to fuck you up if you bothered her.

It was amusing to watch everyone's body posture tense up as Voorhees got close. She was an unknown, that made her dangerous. Combine that with her gruesome appearance and the way she had manhandled the Merchants, it made for an intimidating package. It was quite at odds with the girl who had gotten incredibly embarrassed just a few days ago when Alec had pointed out that she had been naked the entire time she'd been with the group. In her defense she'd had a lot on her mind, in Alec's defense...well he was right, she was naked. That said, Alec should have let it drop after he mentioned it. His continual teasing about it was probably why Voorhees didn't like him.

In a way, Brian felt a sense of pride that Voorhees had taken his instructions of reputation and appearing confident to heart. Didn't matter what she was feeling on the inside, on the outside she looked badass.

"Is this man's claim true? Did you hit him with whatever contraption Squealer managed to get running this week?" Kaiser asked, turning to look at Skidmark. He hadn't raised his voice but Kaiser managed to convey a high degree of anger and contempt in just two sentences.

"She ran out in the middle of the road!"

"Walked. I walked into the road because no traffic was coming," Voorhees responded. "Then you came sliding around the corner in that van and didn't slow down."

"Go sit in a booth. We'll deal with you later," Kaiser said, glaring at Skidmark.

"Fuck you whitey, just cus I'm black doesn't mean I take orders from you."

"No, you take orders from all of us because you broke the rules and unless you want to be killed where you stand you will shut up and go sit in a booth," Coil said.

With a lot of muttered profanity, Skidmark made his way over to an unoccupied booth. Voorhees unceremoniously dumped Squealer's body on the floor next to him and then made her way over to the main table.

"Well, well, well, things are already more interesting than most of these little events usually are," a new voice said from the doorway. Brian turned and saw a group of capes in red and black themed outfits, along with a gorilla-like creature almost as big as Voorhees.

"The Travelers," Coil supplied. "You're a nomadic group, I didn't expect to see you in Brockton Bay."

"With all the hubbub going on, it seemed like an interesting place to visit. I'm Trickster by the way," the cape said as he sauntered forward and took a chair at the main table while his group filtered over to a booth.

"You know the rules while you're here?" Brian asked.

Trickster nodded. "As has just been demonstrated, no powers, no fighting, don't bait others, yada yada yada. Like I said, I've been to these in other cities, we know the drill."

"Good enough," Faultline said as she retook her seat. "Now back to the unknown, I admit I'm unfamiliar with you."

"Call me Voorhees, I'm an independent."

This had been part of the agreement beforehand. As much as Brian wished that Voorhees would join the Undersiders, she was adamant about not being seen as even more of a villain than she already was so Lisa had told her to show up to the meeting later than the group and they would all pretend not to know each other.

"I doubt the other independents such as Circus or Uber and Leet will make an appearance so this should be everyone, excluding the ABB but I doubt they'd send a representative considering they are the subject of this meeting," Coil said as everyone got situated. "To wit: their over use of the bombs as resulted in a severe loss of life, property, and revenue for the city. The national guard has already begun the process of mobilizing and the Protectorate is talking of bringing in extra capes until the situation has been resolved. This affects our bottom line."

People around the room nodded.

"If the situation isn't resolved soon not only will we be hampered by the ABB, but we are unlikely to regain proper control of our holdings due to the increased presence of the law enforcement," Coil continued. "To that end I propose a temporary truce, that we work together to hit ABB safehouses until the danger has passed and the Mayor doesn't feel the need to call for outside help every two days."

"I was actually going to make a similar suggestion," Brian said. "My team has no problems working with others if that is what it takes to stop Bakuda."

More nods from around the room (other than Faultline and her group who insisted on being paid). From there the conversation turned to more tactical aspects. Brian brought up the conscripts with the implanted bombs and Kaiser mentioned several ABB safehouses that everyone else had been unaware of. Voorhees described several of Bakuda's bombs that she had witnessed or been subjected to. Coil even suggested curtailing as much criminal activity as possible until this was resolved so that the Protectorate could focus on the ABB, which was eventually agreed to.

"So now that that is all handled, there is the issue of what to do with the Merchants," Coil said as he looked at the two drug addicted capes. Squealer had regained consciousness at some point during the meeting and had joined Skidmark in glaring at everyone. "As the injured party Voorhees, you may make demand for restitutions or punishment."

Voorhees shook her massive head. "As deplorable as I find the Merchants, we could use their help dealing with the ABB."

"A very utilitarian approach," Coil commented. "Anyone disagree with Voorhees' decision?"

Various people shrugged or shook their heads.

"Alright then, before we all start heading out is there anything else anybody wants to bring up?"

* * *

Brian wasn't sure how he felt about having the group divided up like this. On the one hand it did help cut down on the possibility of any one group stabbing everyone else in the back, but the flipside of that was he was working alongside of multiple people that he hadn't practiced or trained with. This felt too fly-by-night for comfort. At least Voorhees was part of this group so there was one person Brian knew could be reliable.

"Do we have a plan beyond charge in there and wreck everything?" Brian asked.

"Cricket is spying on the place now, which you would know if you'd arrived on time," Stormtiger said.

 _I was only two minutes late you racist bastard, and that was just so Voorhees and I wouldn't arrive at the same time._

"Regardless of what she finds, I'm pretty sure the plan will boil down to, I rush in and draw everyone's attention while you all pick off the important targets," Voorhees rumbled from her spot on the street. "Whatever they turn out to be."

 _She really does look like a dog, resting her head on her hands like that. I wonder if she's aware that she's doing it?_

"Which won't take long at all, not like this is an important site," Stormtiger muttered.

Brian could understand the man's complaint. This was a small warehouse on the edge of town that hadn't even seen active use until recently. They were not expecting a large resistance at this building, if any. Hence why there were only four people assigned to this job. The point was that it was a location that the ABB had begun using and therefor they needed to hit it to show that the Asian gang had no place they could hide. It was entirely, completely necessary that this place get worked over...even if it did feel like a punishment detail.

Without so much as a warning Cricket dropped to the ground in a crouch right next to Stormtiger. Brian was proud of himself that he didn't start in surprise.

"We got a problem," she said without preamble.

"What? They got the place booby trapped to hell or some shit?" Stormtiger asked.

Cricket shook her head. "No, it's Lung. Based on all the equipment I think this is going to be Bakuda's new workshop and he's here overseeing the move."


End file.
